Beautiful Mistake
by temporaryinsanity91
Summary: Bella is conned into Volterra and changed. now she is left to deal with it, with the help of our favorite vamps. but what happens when they come back? what happens when the Cullens declare war? AV,AU. t for some violence/possible mature themes.
1. Prologue Pt 1

"Bells, I can't believe you won that trip to Italy!"

"I know, I know. I'm so excited. Mom blew a crapload of money on it at that silent auction. She said she wanted me to have something special for my senior year. I wish you could come too."

"You know I would if I could, Isabella Marie. You've got to send me postcards from everywhere you go."

"I will, Jacob Ephraim. Promise."

"I love you, Bells."

"I love you too, Jake."

He blew her a kiss. "I'll talk to you… I don't know…."

"I'll email you."

"Okay. Bye, Bells. See you in two weeks!" Jacob hung up the phone and Bella went back to packing. Her trip to Italy was going to be amazing. She looked at the brochure again. Rome, Venice… Volterra? She'd never seen that on a map before. Hmm. No matter. It must have been some small eclectic Italian town with fat guys baking amazing, delicious things and beautiful views and—

"Bella! We're going to be late for the plane."

"I'm going, Phil. I've just got to finish this…"

"Just hurry up."

"Okay, okay."An hour later, she was ready. "Mom! Phil! I'm ready!"

"You packed like you're going to live there."

"Cute, Phil. Let's go."

They had to take several connection flights in order to get to their final destination: Seattle to Chicago, Chicago to New York, New York to London, and Finally, London to Venice, where they stayed for three days. After sending the promised postcards to Jacob, Angela, and all her other friends, Bella got ready for her trip to the odd town called Volterra.

It was more majestic than she imagined. Tall stone wall encased the ancient city and Iron gates led the way in. An enormous castle rose from the city, towering above the walls. It looked unreal against the surrounding mountains and rising sun, almost like a painting.

She stared. Somehow, amidst all the beauty, this place gave her the creeps. "Mom? Did you know this place existed?"

"No. But it's beautiful. I'm sure you'll have fun."

"I hope so." She felt the creeps go away and excitement take their place as they entered the city. "Wow! This is so amazing! Why I everything decorated in red?" She asked their tour guide.

"St. Marcus day today. There's a parade a little bit later. Want to go?"

"Yeah! What's St. Marcus day?"

"It celebrates the day in which St. Marcus drove the vampires from the city."

"Vampires?"

"It's a myth," shrugged the tour guide, "But it's a big holiday here in Volterra."

"That's cool. So what time is the parade?"

"Around noon, we'll come around. We'll go to the square."

"Cool. What will we see now?"

"For now, I will show you to your hotel. We will start the tour tomorrow."

"Oh." She sighed, little disappointed. "That's fine, I guess."

"See," crowed Phil, "I knew you'd get excited. She's right though, we need a break."

"Sure, sure." She grinned as she remembered that that was a phrase she'd picked up from Jacob. She would email him when she got the chance. "I guess you're right."

"Cool."

"Yeah thanks for everything."

"Yeah, no problem. Enjoy your rest. I will come back to get you around eleven thirty."

"Okay."

Bella waited impatiently while they checked in to the hotel and while their things were brought to their room. After they were finally settled, Bella whipped out her laptop.

_Six new messages._

_  
Subject: I miss you :{_

_BELLS! I miss you like something crazy. Quil and Embry say hi. They were wondering if they could use your motorbike. I told them to leave it alone, but… Quil's watching me write this over my shoulder, so I can't NOT ask. Anyhoo, I hope you're enjoying your trip. You've got to tell me everything. _

_I got your post card. You're so sweet, Bells. Thank you. Seth says he wants one too. _

_I love you, Beautiful. I'll talk to you soon._

_Your best friend,  
~jake._

She Immediately hit reply.

_To:  
Subject: RE: I miss you :{_

_I miss you too, Jake. Tell Quil and Embry they can use it… as long as they don't hurt it. Tell Seth hello and I promise I'll send him one when I send you one._

_This trip has been so beautiful. The views are amazing, the people are so friendly… even though I don't understand what it is they're saying. I have to say, I really wish you were here with me. We're in this place called Volterra and it's beautiful, but… okay, it's really ancient, older than Rome, and it's got this huge castle and a clock tower right in the middle of the city. It's like something out of Van Helsing or something. I would feel less creeped out if you were with me._

_There's a parade later, and I'm dying to go. Our tour guide said we could go, and that he'd hooked us up with a tour of Creeptown Castle too. It'll be interesting._

_And quit calling me that. My name is Bella. That's it. Bella. I don't care what that means in any other language. It's my name, okay? Deal with it._

_Love,  
~BELLA (my given name)._

She had to say she was confused about her relationship with Jacob. He was a very sincere heart. She'd know them since they were very young, and they'd always say 'I love you' to each other… even then. It felt awkward now that he'd asked her out when she went this summer and she'd turned him down. She just didn't feel that way about him. Their relationship hadn't really changed after that, but she felt very awkward. Perhaps it was all in her head.

Shaking her head free of her confusing thoughts, she dressed for bed, deciding to nap until the tour guide came for them. She was exhausted after all.


	2. Prologue Pt 2

**a/n: i'm having trouble giving my story a title... ideas are welcome. as time goes on and you all see what's happening, if you could include ideas for titles in your review, i'll take my favorites and put it to a poll. thanks everyone.**

**read, review, and enjoy.**

**~temporary insanity**

"Hey Bells. You ready for that tour?"

"Yeah, let's go." They headed over to the place where the tour was to start. About forty other people showed up too, which made Bella feel less nervous. There was a woman waiting for them at the entrance waiting for them.

"Hello, my name is Heidi and I will be your tour guide this afternoon." Bella stared in shock. There was no way that a woman like that could exist. Her voice sounded like music. Her hair was long and flowing and her eyes were a strange but lovely shade of violet. The woman was so beautiful it hurt. She continued to speak, her voice sounding like chimes. "We will start today in the white room. Follow me."

The group started to follow the lovely woman through the grand entrance and down the long hallways. People took pictures of everything, while others tried to flirt with the absurdly beautiful girl. Bell just walked in silence, admiring the beautiful artwork and stunning architecture.

"Wow, Bells. This place is amazing."

"I know, I kind of like it. It's not as dreary in here as it looks from outside."

"See I told you it wouldn't be bad."

"_Permiso."_ A tiny woman came over to us, looking frightened. _"Permiso. ¿Donde estamos?"_

"I'm sorry… I don't speak Spanish."

"_Porfavor, digame. ¿Estamos en el Castillo de los Volturri?"_

"What does that mean?"

"_Vamos a morir! Tenemos que salir de aqui!"_

She knew enough Spanish for that one. "What are you talking about?"

But she was gone, asking other people the same questions in a more agitated state. The creepy feeling came back. "I wonder what that was about."

"She's just crazy." But that didn't ease her nerves.

Just then, a kid in a black hooded cape came past them. "Nice fishing," he told Heidi.

"Thanks."

"Nice fishing? What does that mean?"

Heidi flashed a smile. "It just means he's glad to see you here."

"Save a few for me," the boy called.

"I will," she promised.

Bella frowned. "Nice fishing? Save a few for me? Save a few what?" She didn't like the sound of that.

"We're here." Heidi ducked into a thick door and they entered into a spacious, light room. The sunlight shined through the peak of the tall, cathedral ceiling, through a vent. Bella looked at the man at the front of the room, a bit scared.

"Welcome! Welcome to Volterra."

"Phil, are you sure this is safe? That tiny Spanish speaking lady looks pretty freaked out."

His eyes followed the small frantic woman as the flitted desperately around the room, now holding a rosary. "It's no big deal."

Suddenly Bella noticed that the door to the exit was blocked by a huge man, also wearing a black cape. That man's eyes were red.

"Mom? Did you see his eyes? They're red."

"They're probably just contacts, honey. Listen to the man speak."

"Mom, we're surrounded."

"Honey, nothing is going to--"

Suddenly there was a scream. Bella whipped around. There was a tiny girl with a black hood pinning the rosary woman to the wall. Her lips were at her neck. The woman's screams choked off with a gurgle and she collapsed to the floor. The black caped girl's lips were red.

Mom stared, wide-eyed. "Run," she whispered.

Bella tried to push for the exit, but the screaming and chaos confused her.

The evil looking man by the door appeared in front of her. "Hello."

Her breath caught. "I'm… gonna… go…" she turned to run, but he was there too. "Please," she begged pathetically.

"Don't worry," he grinned evilly, "It will be over before you know it." He snagged someone that attempted to run by him, biting hard on his neck and the man screamed helplessly until his life faded away. The man tossed the dead body aside, and with horror, she realized it was Phil.

"Phil!" she screamed. "What did you do?!"

"Shh, honey. It's nothing."

"You killed my step dad! Get away from me…" He shoved her with brutal force into the wall. She heard her ribs crunch and break. She didn't have time to catch her breath before he was back. "Please," she coughed, tasting blood in her mouth and wincing. "Please, I don't want to die." She thought about Jacob. She wouldn't have wanted him to be here now, dying with them. He would be so heartbroken…

Something sharp and painful pierced her skin, and she tried to scream in pain, but all that came out was a whimper. Her vision was fading around the edges. There was a paralyzing, burning pain burning in her neck. She couldn't move. The last thing she saw before her world faded to black was the man with red eyes licking his lips.


	3. You Aren't Human Anymore

The burning didn't stop. All there was was blackness and horrible, burning pain. I couldn't move or breathe… all I wanted was to die.

"We have to get rid of the corpses," I vaguely heard. "Burn them."

_Yes,_ I thought. _Kill me. Please kill me. Make the pain go away._

I heard the movement of the corpses being taken away. A voice close to me said, "Hey, who had this one?"

"Why?"

"Because she's alive. She must be changing."

"Oh I did. Man, she was tasty."

"Well you didn't finish her, fool. She's changing. What are we going to do with her?"

"I don't know. Kill her."

"NO! She hasn't even done anything wrong."

A tiny voice snorted. "Who cares? We have enough people in the Guard. We don't need more."

"Oh hush, Jane. Just because you're upset about Aro doesn't mean… Ahh!" he ended with a scream of pain.

"Don't ever talk about that again."

"Okay, okay," screamed the male voice.

I empathized with him. I was in so much pain. I wished they would take the tiny voice's advice and put Me out of my misery.

"Put her in your room, Jane, until the change is completed. I will find something to do with her."

"But Aro…"

"Now, Jane."

"Yes, Master."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I lost track of time. I didn't know whether it had been hours or days, but the pain only got worse before it got better. It started to leave my extremities and focus in on my heart… and my throat. I found I had a lot of room in my head. I could process multiple things at once. The muted voices nearby. I could tell they were very far away, in several different places, but I could hear every word.

One in particular caught my attention. "Carlisle, my friend. It has been centuries."

"I know, I know. You've met my son."

"Yes, I have."

"Where is she?"

"The change isn't completed." The voices started to get closer. "We wanted you to have her until she is matured. Then we can take her off your hands."

"I assure you, that won't be necessary. We can take care of her."

"As well I know you can, dear friend, but your coven is already so large…"

A hiss escaped from someone else which I assumed was the son. "We would do no such thing. We can't be your friends if you don't trust us."

"I did not mean to offend you, friend. I had forgotten about the talent you have… a very interesting one."

"NO, I will not stay here."

"I'm sorry. You would be a great addition to our guard."

"I refuse to leave my family," he hissed.

"Alright, that's enough. Just show us where she is."

They drew closer. I was scared. I didn't know what to do. I heard the double entendre in the phrase 'take her off your hands'. They were going to kill me. Why couldn't they just kill me right then? Save that man Carlisle and his son the trouble. The door opened and I tensed. They couldn't get near me. I couldn't let them…

"That's interesting. I can't push the door open further than this."

"Huh."

"What's interesting is that I can't read her mind."

"Really?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't know… she must be a shield."

"Perhaps then we should keep her."

"No. she must be terrified of you. How could you let this happen?!"

"Dimitri just got carried away. He gets excited easily."

"What's her name?"

"I don't know."

"How long has she been like this?"

"Three days."

"She should almost be done then."

"Yes."

Suddenly, as if to confirm, all the pain focused in on my heart. It sped up, beating sporadically and at a speed so fast in made my chest burn with searing intensity. Then suddenly, it stopped all together. I expected to be dead, but instead my eyes opened. A clear sharp image filled my eyes. I could see every grain in the stone walls, every stitch that wove the cloth on the curtains.

I sit up. "What happened to me?" I wonder aloud.

The door pushes open all the way and in walks in the most beautiful man I've ever seen. His bronze hair is styled neatly and his eyes are a pale, golden honey color. "Hi," he whispers, kneeling next to my bed.

"Hi," I mumble back, deciding to stare at the pillows instead of his perfect face. He reaches out to touch me. I panic. _Oh no, he'll hurt me! Just like that horrible man did! _I scoot to the other side of the bed, curling into a ball.

"Don't be afraid," he says softly. "I won't hurt you."

"But you did! They did."

He sits on the floor again. "What did they do to you?"

"I want to go home," I tell him instead. "Take me to my mom and Phil."

"Were they here when this happened to you?"

I nod, hiding my face in the pillows again.

"I'm so sorry," he says quietly, his voice full of horror and pain.

"Why? Just take me to them."

"They… can't see you."

"Why not?"

He sighs. "They are dead."

_Dead?!?!_

"I'm sorry."

"You're lying."

"No. Please believe me. I won't lie." His hand hits something invisible, but it sounds like stone against stone. He looks at me pleadingly. "Let me near you. Please."

I scoot a little bit closer, still clutching the pillow to my chest. "Who are you?" I ask him timidly.

"Edward. Edward Cullen. They've sent for me to take you away from here. Some place safe." He chuckles. "You're going to tear the pillow in half."

I then notice that my nails have made hole in the fabric and the soft down feathers are starting to fall out. I loosen my grip and look back up at him. "How do I know I'm safe with you?"

He moves to sit on the bed. His hand reaches slowly, tentatively, before it reaches my face. He strokes my cheek softly, pushing some messed up hair behind my ear. "What's your name?"

"Bella," I say, still timid and a bit wary. But he doesn't seem like those other men, the evil ones with red eyes. "I want to go home," I cry to him, finally breaking down and sobbing. Some part of my mind notices that, though I'm crying, no tears are forming. "What happened to me? Please tell me."

He sighs. "I promise I will explain everything. Please don't be distressed. You are safe now." He seems genuinely upset that I'm sad.

He goes to stand, but I cling to him. "No, don't leave me here! Take me home!"

"Shh," he soothes me, "I won't leave you here. It's okay. I want to talk to my father. He's here too. To keep you safe. You will be okay, I promise." He moves to go away, but I don't let him.

He pulls me close, scooping me up and carrying me with him. "Carlisle, we're ready to go."

"Go? What about my things?"

"Where are they?"

"I was staying at this hotel a couple blocks from the clock tower."

"Do you remember where?"

"Vaguely. It all seems so dim."

Edward chuckled. "That's normal, Bella. Come, we'll find your hotel and get your things."

"Okay." I find myself shying away from the red-eyed man I recognized as Aro, burying my face in Edward's chest instead. "Make him go away," I mumble.

"It's okay, Bella," he whispers, his voice serious again. "I won't let him hurt you."

I cling harder anyway. I feel him tense up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… you're just a lot stronger than me. You're hurting me."

"I'm sorry." I jump out of his arms, and instead of landing in a heap on the floor like I expected, I land on my feet a couple feet away. I fold my arms behind my back. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, I--"

The man I vaguely remembered attacking Phil appears in the hallway and I jump on poor Edward again.

He catches me easily before turning to him. "Hello."

"Hi. I really didn't know she was alive still, I would have…" that stone against stone sound happens again and I look up from Edward's chest to see the man on the floor about ten feet away and Edward's amused expression. "What was that?"

Carlisle just stared at me. "Is that you?"

I frown, confused. "No… I mean, I don't know. Just keep them away from me."

Edward actually laughed, but said nothing. The look on his face read, 'I think you're doing that just fine.'

"Let's get going, Edward. It's twilight, we're safe to go now."

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"We can't show ourselves in the sunlight."

"Why not?"

"You'll see sometime."

"What aren't you telling me?"

He ignored my question and put me down, walking next to me instead with his arm around my shoulders.

We walked out into the audience room I was in last. There, the tiny girl Jane was arguing with an equally small boy. She glared at him and he was on the floor, writhing in pain.

Carlisle stopped, stunned.

Aro didn't know what to do. "Jane, love, stop that nonsense."

"Nonsense?!"

"please," he pleaded. "you squabble like newborns."

Edward chuckled.

She turned her painful gaze on him and I jumped in front of him without even thinking. Violent snarls and hisses tore from my throat and I lunged at her.

Immediately, Aro and some others surrounded her. Edward took my arm gently. "It's okay. Hey, it's fine. Let's go."

I let him lead me away, still giving the girl violent glares. Carlisle follows behind so I won't turn around. We finally make it out and soon are on our way home.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So what happened to me? Are you going to tell me?"

He sighed. Bella, you're… you're a vampire."

Those last moments of my life flashed in my mind and I believed him. But I was confused. "Vampires don't exist. They aren't supposed to exist. I'm confused."

"I know. I know you're overwhelmed and confused, but we'll work it out." He focused on the curve in the road before continuing. "You keep telling me you want to go home. I can't take you home yet, for that reason. Newborn vampires have an incredibly difficult time… controlling themselves. I'm surprised you made it through all those flights without killing someone."

I stare at him, outraged. "I would… never…"

"I didn't mean to upset you. It's the truth. Please don't be angry."

"I could never harm another human being."

"Another? Bella, you aren't human. Not anymore."


	4. Stop Throwing Stuff at Me!

"We're here."

"Wow. What is this place?"

"This is where we live, Bella. This is where you live."

"But… aren't we vampires?"

"Yeah."

"So… shouldn't there be, like, dungeons and prisoners and dark motes and passageways filled with bats?" My head was doing what the little robot does before crashing: _DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE. DOES NOT COMPUTE…_

Edward laughed. "No, silly. Maybe the Volturri do in their basement or something. But, for the sake of secrecy, we have to lead more normal lives. No motes, dungeons, or bats. Sorry to disappoint."

I glare at him rather playfully.

He smiles back. "Here, I'll show you to your room."

"Tell me again why I can't just stay with Charlie?"

"Wait…Charlie?"

"Yeah. My dad. Charlie."

"Charlie what?"

"Charlie Swan. My dad. He's a police chief in a small town…"

"Yeah. Forks. About fifteen or so miles away from here." Edward started to pace. "This is bad, this is really, really bad. How are we going to explain to Chief Swan that we've adopted his daughter, who, might I add, was abducted and presumed dead?"

"Well, tell him just that."

"How do we explain the eyes? Hm? You probably look way different than you used to. How do we explain that?"

"Why would I look different?" I ask cautiously as a tiny girl with short, pixie cut black hair and the same color eyes as Edward steps off a tree branch and into the room gracefully.

"Edward, come on. You haven't shown the girl a mirror yet?"

"We were too preoccupied with her dead family, Alice. Give me a break. What are we going to do?"

"Like I know!"

"Alice, Bella. Bella, Alice. She's my sister. My favorite, but the most annoying."

"Whatever Edward. You act like you aren't annoying too. It's nice to finally meet you, Bella. Welcome to the family."

"I wouldn't say that too soon. Chief Swan is her dad."

"What?!"

"Yeah. So we're going to hold off on the mirror for a bit, okay? Until we figure out what the hell is going on."

"Wait. I want to know what happened to me. Why can't Charlie see me like this? Show me! Do I look that bad?"

"Bella--"

"Please. We can't just tell my dad that we're a bunch of vampires. It won't go over well."

"Yeah no kidding. Let's go, Bella. I'll show you."

"No. Bring it down here."

"Fine." She was gone and back in a flash with a full-length mirror in her hands.

She placed it in front of me and I gawked at it. There was no way the girl in the mirror was me. Her eyes were brilliant red and her skin was flawless. The scar on my forearm was not on the girl in the reflection. My drab, dark brown hair was rich chocolate and luminescent on the girl in the mirror. My unruly, frizzy curls now hung in long, perfect harmonic waves down her back and around her face. It wasn't possible. I studied my neck, which was where that horrible non-man ended my world as I knew it. It didn't have a mark. "What… it's not possible. What about… my eyes?"

"They won't stay red for long. They'll get darker and then clear out like ours in a few months." I looked into his golden eyes and almost got lost. I cleared my throat. "Good. I like yours better."

He chuckled. "Okay. So now you see why this is a problem."

"Yeah. What are we going to do? How am I supposed to explain to him?"

"We could move," put in Carlisle. "Tell everyone we didn't have enough room for our new family member."

"Or we could send her to Tanya's."

"Who's Tanya?"

"Our family up in Alaska. She's… like a cousin. Her own coven only has three members."

It was a second time I heard that word. "What's a coven?"

"A company of Vampires."

"So you're a coven?"

"Yep."

"I don't want to leave. I like your coven better."

He laughed. "You haven't even met Tanya yet."

"But…"

"Okay, No Tanya."

"Well what else do we plan to do? We can't just lock her in here."

"Sure you can. I'm sure there's a dungeon somewhere."

Edward gave me a 'the look'. "There's not. Imprisonment is not an option, that's why we got her out of Italy."

"We can send her to…"

"Please don't make me leave," I begged Edward. "I'm only safe with you."

He sighed. "Fine. We'll tell him we found her in Italy when we went to visit friends. We didn't know who she was and promise to take good care of her. When and if he asks."

"Or we can hide her identity. Give her a new name and ID."

"What's your middle name?"

"Marie. I don't want that for a name."

"Bella, we don't know what else to do."

"Well I'm not staying away from my dad."

"Bella, you can't go home. We've discussed this."

"I would never hurt my own father!"

"You don't know that!"

"Yeah. I do." And I stormed up the stairs. I'd find my room on my own.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Hello."

"Go away."

"No can do, Bella. This is _my_ room."

"You can stay in mine then."

"Please, Bella, you--" he smacked right into that invisible stone again. "Bella, you can't shield me out of my own room. Please."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Bella, please, for the love of God."

"What if I don't love God?"

"Then for the love of me."

"What if I don't love you either?"

"Then you'll be happier in your own room, away from me."

Finally I gave up. "I don't want to be away from you."

"Then let me in so I can be with you."

It was then that I realized that, in my anger, I could actually see the invisible stone wall, and it was coming from me. With a lot of focus, I allowed him a couple of feet. "Cool," I said to myself.

I pushed it out again, and Edward stumbled to the door. "Bella… what are you doing?"

"Nothing, I… I can control it."

"What?"

"Whatever it is you people keep smacking into when I don't want you near me. I can control it."

"So let me in my room. Can't you turn it off?"

"No." I pushed further, enjoying annoying him.

"Bella… please."

I heard a snicker from the hallway. "What'd you do to piss her off?"

"Shut up, Emmett. Tell her to let me the hell in my room."

I finally reigned it back in and he grunted before springing lightly to his feet. I wished I could close the door in his face. The door closes. I stare at it.

He opens it and stares at me. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know…"

"Do it again." He says once inside the room.

I sigh. I don't know what I did. I just wanted the door to close…

It slammed shut. I stare at it, a slow grin spreading across my face. "Now _that_ is cool."

"What?" asked Carlisle, coming up the stairs.

"She discovered another talent."

"Oh?"

"Apparently, she's telekinetic."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

I try something I saw in Matilda once. I stared at the Remote Control on the bookshelf, and it rose. I hurled it at Edward.

It hit him on the head and shattered. "Hey! What the—did you just throw that?!"

I grin. "Hmm, hard headed… No surprise there. Hey, do you think I could throw you out the window?"

"Do you think you could stop abusing me?"

"You're the one that told me I'll kill my dad if you let me near him."

"Bella… This is exactly why! Can you at least try to control your anger for one moment?! If you're seriously thinking about throwing me out a window, how do I know you won't suck Chief Swan dry?"

"Because he's my dad and you're the one keeping me away from him."

He sighed. "What can I tell you, Bella?"

"That you'll let me see my dad."

Edward threw his hands up in the air. "Fine! But he is coming here. When and if he should ask. Those are the terms, take it or leave it."

I sighed. "Fine."

"Good. Now go find someone else to throw stuff at."


	5. Vegetarian

I wandered into the main room on the first floor, following the sound of the music flowing from the piano, only to find Edward playing a complicated piece of music, a slight smile on his beautiful lips. Suddenly he frowned and stopped playing. He scribbled something onto the music in front of him and played the part of it over again. Scribbling some final notes on the sheet, he smiled in satisfaction. "It's finished," he announced. "Want to hear it?"

I gulp. He wasn't supposed to know I was here. I had forgotten that vampires have super hearing and he probably heard me walking in. "You, uh… you write music?"

"Yeah. I've written more than six hundred songs."

My mouth falls open and he chuckles. "Twenty four hours a day for a hundred and change years… I've had the time. I have some of everything. Rock, Jazz, Classical… Jazz is the most fun to write, but classical is my favorite."

"Can I hear some Jazz you've written?" I asked him, curious.

He jumped of the piano bench and scrambled into his room, coming back with a huge stack of papers and notebooks. He set them down and motioned me over. "Which one do you want to hear?"

I shrugged. "All of them. We have forever, don't we?" I add sarcastically.

He laughed. "Okay. Pick which one you want first."

I looked through the stack and found one which had an interesting title. "Good enough to eat?"

He laughed. "It's intended for children. It's not really jazz." He played the first few measures of it and I understood what he meant.

I decided to tease him more. "So children are good enough to eat?"

He laughed. "They're not supposed to be. We're 'vegetarian', remember?"

"Yeah. Bet you weren't always. Those little kids, man…"

He got serious. "No, I wasn't always vegetarian. There was a time… I didn't see the point in denying myself my very nature. But Carlisle and Esme insisted that the innocent people didn't deserve to die. So I made a compromise. Since I know people's thoughts, I'd kill the bad people and leave the innocent ones.

There was a girl walking home alone. She was beautiful and I honestly was attracted to her. I heard those… vermin… what they were thinking, what they were going to do. They were following her, and I was following them. To see if they would stop, if they would change…They didn't. they attacked her. Of course, in my mind, it was justification for food. I killed the six of them, but I let the girl go. In the end, though, I think the girl was more traumatized by the thought of what _I_ did that what they did. And I felt just as guilty for killing them as I would have if it had been the girl.

He picked up another piece and began to play it. "I guess what I'm telling you is, don't be deceived. You might feel tempted to… deviate from the diet, but it's not worth it. Just because none of us ever wanted this does not give us permission to act up." He chuckled dryly. "This piece was just wishful thinking."

I considered what he said. "How long were you… a 'carnivore'?"

He laughed at my terminology. "Ten and a half years. Then what I just told you happened, and I felt so horrible for rebelling against Carlisle and Esme…"

"So that's why you're the favorite around here. You're the prodigal."

He shrugged. "I guess. I'm also the oldest. Even older than Esme."

"Really? So why is she the mom?"

"Why was Phil your dad? It's the same concept. Carlisle is my dad for all intents and purposes, and she's his wife. That makes her mom."

"We all love her, though. She's very caring. And she keeps us in line. Just like a real mom." He sighed wistfully.

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"How… did you become a vampire?"

He stopped playing and turned to me. "I had the flu. Spanish Influenza, during 1918. It was incurable and I was dying. My mother and father both died from it not weeks before me. Carlisle was my doctor. He bit me and here I am."

"Oh. What about everyone else?"

"Those are their stories to tell, Bella."

"But none of them… wanted it?"

He nodded.

"Why? Look at you! You're impossibly fast and strong. You're so beautiful it freaking hurts! You're immortal! You can't get sick, get old, or die! Why wouldn't you? Anyone would kill to be you."

"And that's the problem, Bella, that you have to kill, to be me. None of want to be monsters. Do you think it's funny when we go to the movies and see 'Van Helsing': the Vampire Killer or when Hollywood depicts us as their worst, horrible, murdering nightmare?" he turned back to his music.

_Oh no, he's mad at me. He's ignoring me. I don't want him to ignore me._ "Edward? I didn't mean to upset you."

He looked at me from the corner of his eye and stopped playing again, pulling me close to him. "Don't pout," he told me. "I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you. I just… I want you to not make the same mistake as me. I want you to be happy."

"You know what would make me happy?"

He studied me for a moment. "Food?"

I nodded, pouting again for the effect. "Of the vegetable variety."

He chuckled. "Alright, a-hunting we will go."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Feel better?"

"No."

"No? Still thirsty?"

"Well… I kinda really want to keep walking. I don't want to go home yet."

"Okay, well… I know just the place. Do you want to drive or run?"

I considered. Running was way more fun.

He laughed, knowing what my answer would be. "That was a stupid question. Race you. On your mark, get set, go!"

"Hey! No fair, I wasn't ready! I don't even know where we're going!" I kept up with him easily, though. And soon, he was having to keep up with me.

"Hey! I thought you didn't know where you were going! You're going to lose if I turn and you keep running."

"Fine, I grant you victory, oh Mighty Edward. Show me the way."

He grinned at me, his gold eyes sparkling. "Oh mighty Edward?"

"Shut up before I take it back."

He laughed. I'd never get used to the sound. It was amazing and beautiful… and incredibly distracting, I found as I wound up almost running into tress twice, much to his amusement. "Bella, what's the matter with you? Vampires aren't supposed to be clumsy."

I telekinetically threw a rock at him. "Well didn't Carlisle say something about human traits being amplified in a vampire? Well being a klutz was my human trait."

"Apparently, so was anger management."

This time I actually bent down and picked up a rock and threw it at him.

"Okay, okay!"

"Humph." I pouted and crossed my arms

"Bella, don't be mad at me, I was just teasing you."

I scowled at him.

"Bella?"

Nothing.

"Bella—ow! What the hell?! Stop throwing stuff at me!"

I grinned at him.

"You're an evil, scheming little wench, you know that?"

"What are you going to do about it?"

"You really want to find out?"

"Sure, if you can catch me."

"Oh, you better run."


	6. Beautiful King of Hearts

**a/n: okay, i'm throwing a wrench at the monkey works (lol, get it? instead of 'throwing a monkey wrench in the works'... okay, the cheesy moment is over. bad joke.). since only one person has given me an idea for a title, I'm going to make this more interesting. i'll name the idea givers in my poll, and the winning title's person will get teasers for this story, Come Out, Come Out, and/or, my up and coming Instant Star project which also remains untitled. and my unending thanks and praise.**

**cheers!**

**~temporary insanity.**

**PS-- reneesmay, this one's for you. although we don't see Emmett flying through the window, next chapter we'll get to see Bella throw Jasper down the stairs. cheers!**

* * *

We eventually got to the place Edward wanted to show me. It was beautiful. it was a meadow, perfectly round and the grass was soft and perfect. There was even a little river nearby, and we had fun splashing around and getting each other wet for a few hours before sitting in the sun to dry.

I stared at my skin. It looked like someone had taken the time to insert millions of microscopic diamonds in my skin when I wasn't looking. Edward too. But he was so much more beautiful than me. He lay still, eyes closed, singing softly under his breath.

He looked up at me. "You really think that?"

"Think what?" I asked alarmed.

"That you're not as amazingly gorgeous as, say, oh mighty Edward."

I laughed. "I thought you couldn't read my mind."

"When your shield is up."

I put my shield up.

He sighed. "You don't know how frustrating it is to not be able to hear you."

Good, because at that moment, I was thinking about how much I wanted to kiss him. How odd. Instead, I told him, "Welcome to the world of the non-mind readers and non-telepaths."

"Hey, now. Be nice. It was just an observation."

"Stop making observations, then."

"But you were going to like the next one," he whined like a child.

"Fine. Have at it."

"You're the most insanely beautiful thing I've ever seen. Myself included." He got up before I could pick up my jaw. "Race you home."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I was really bored. It was two in the morning and the genius who thought up our kind didn't think of anything for us to do during the night. I read four books and watched a movie, but I was still bored.

I decided to head to Edward's room. "Up for company?"

"Sure, why not. Emmett and Rose are at their house right now, so are Alice and Jasper... Good thing they are out of our hearing range. They're probably gonna need a new houses tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Come outside with me."

"Okay." I followed him outside and before I could react, he had me pinned to a tree. The tree groaned and fell over. "Oh crap. Did we just break the tree?"

"Yup."

"Oh. Sorry, tree."

"Now imagine Emmett and Rose going at it… not in the woods."

"Ew, Edward. Bad imagery."

"Sorry, Bells."

I sigh. "You sound just like Jacob."

"Jacob?"

"He's my best friend from Forks. Actually, he lives on the Reservation right outside Forks. He's a Native American. He must be so upset… about me dying or whatever."

"Would you like to call him?"

"And tell him what? 'Oh hey, Jake. I'm not really dead. You see, I was attacked by mythical creatures that don't exist and now I'm a vampire. I live with the Cullens because they think I'll kill my dad if I go home. You can't tell Charlie.' Yeah, that'd go over real well."

"Actually, Jacob Black has a few secrets of his own that will help him understand a lot better than you think."

"What do you mean by that?" He didn't answer. He just turned and walked back to toward the house. I pushed my shield out infront of him and he walked right into it. "Answer me, damn it!"

"Ow! Gosh, Bella. I'm sorry. Look, I'm going to let you talk to him. Trust me when I say, it's better that you hear it from him."

"Well thanks for all you help," I tell him sarcastically.

"Bella… look, I'm sorry your having a difficult time adjusting to this, but please stop taking it out on me! I did nothing wrong!" his voice turned pleading. "I'm just trying to help. I don't want you to get hurt anymore. Please, Bella." He walked toward me slowly, much like he did the first time I saw him. He reached up and gently caressed my cheek. "You can trust me."

"I do, I just…" Okay, his hand on my face was very distracting. In a pleasant way. I focus hard on what I have to say next.

He cuts me off. "I know, Bella. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Bella, that you got dragged into this. But I can never be sorry you came into our family."

"No! it's not that, It's--- well, honestly, I'd rather be with my family."

"And I don't blame you. It will get better, Bella. I promise you. It will get better." He removed his hand from my cheek and pressed a kiss there instead. Then he walked up toward the house and I didn't stop him as he walked away.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What were you two doing out there?" snickered Emmett.

"I thought you were at home. You too, Jasper," he called up the stairs.

"Yeah. I was doing what you and Bella were doing outside."

I glared at him before throwing an empty vase at his head with my eyes.

"Hey! What the hell--?"

"Leave us alone. We were minding our own business, unlike you."

"Okay, alright. I'm sorry."

I picked up a broken piece and chucked it at him. "You better."

"Sheesh! Violent," muttered Emmett under his breath, rubbing his head.

I heard Jasper laugh, and Alice's tinkling giggle joined in.

"I'll get you next, Jasper. Don't make me come up there."

He stopped laughing. Alice laughed harder.

Edward intervened after a few chuckles of his own. "Okay, Bella. Enough violence for today."

I pouted. "But you said to find someone else to throw stuff at! Emmett is much funner than you, Edward."

"Ugh! I'm wounded."

I stared at the shard I threw at Emmett then threw it at Edward's head.

"Ow!" He rubbed his head. "Now I'm really wounded."

There was more laughter from upstairs.

"What's going on here?" Carlisle and Esme walked through the front door and Edward and I struggle to put on a look of innocence.

"Edward, Emmett and Jasper are harassing me," I pout to him.

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at Edward.

Edward grinned. "I've done nothing of the kind. Bella, on the other hand, has found good use for her new talents by harassing us."

"Not true! They started it!"

"Okay, okay! Alright. Both of you bicker like children. Edward, clean this up."

"What?! It was her fault!"

"You can be a gentleman and clean it for her."

"Oh, won't you, oh Mighty Edward, King of… ?" I batted my eyelashes at him playfully. Then I frowned. "I don't know what you're king of. You can be the King of Hearts."

He grinned. "Okay. As long as I can be the King of yours."

I frowned harder. "What does that mean?"

But he ignored me, and after several attempts at his attention, I gave a frustrated huff and stormed away. If he could get his head out of his ass first, he could have my heart.

Maybe he already did...


	7. Friends and Family

I walked to La Push the next morning, since I had discovered that walking and running didn't tire me out the way they used to. I actually enjoyed running with Edward.

I knocked on the door to Jacob's house. "Hi Billy."

"Hey… Bella? Oh my God! Jacob! It's Bella, she's home. Come look!"

I heard a round of disbelief come from a group in the living room in the form of gasps. Jacob, Sam Uley, Quil and Embry, Seth and his sister, and a couple of the other kids from the reservation came running. "Bella!" Jacob shoved through the small crowd. "Bella! Oh God…" he broke off. "Bella, Look at me," He commanded.

I continued to stare at my shoes. I noticed that his scent didn't relax me the way it used to; in fact, it was very unpleasant. It must be a vampire thing.

"Bella please look at me," Jacob begged.

I did and they all jumped back in terror. One kid started shaking until he looked like he was vibrating. I stepped back, confused and a little bit scared.

"What is the meaning of this?!" roared Sam.

I gulped. "I was attacked by vampires in Italy. Mom and Phil…" I looked back at my shoes, trying hard to erase those memories. Unfortunately, the one time I wanted my memory to be less than perfect, it functioned all too well. "They didn't make it."

"How did you get here?! Does Charlie know? Oh Bella," mourned Jacob, and I long to comfort him. But the closer I tried to get to him, the more agitated Sam and the vibrating kid would get.

"Paul, calm the hell down. What are we going to do? Do you know what the rule is?"

I shook my head. "What rule?"

"Because our people have had…run-ins with vampires in the past, you and your kind are not allowed on the reservation," said Sam coldly.

My eyes widened. "What? But… Jacob… is my friend."

Jacob looked away.

"Right?"

Silence came over them.

"Jake… right?"

He sighed. "Bella, there's something I have to tell you."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I ran all the way home at full speed, sobbing the whole time. I couldn't believe it! My Jacob was a vampire slayer. And I was a vampire. Needless to say, we can't be friends.

Of all the damn rotten luck. Why did he have to be a werewolf? Why did this have to happen to me?

When I got home, Carlisle and Esme were gone. Emmet was watching baseball and Edward was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Edward?" I demanded.

"What? Miss your little boyfriend?" came the answer from the top of the stairs.

Jasper was definitely going to get it from me. I was not in the mood. "Jasper shut the hell up and tell me where he is."

He must have sensed the foulness of my mood (he had a special knack for that) because he gulped and said, "by the river. He was worried about you."

Suddenly I felt a bit calmer. The vicious anger inside of me faded and horrible depression was left in it's place. "I'm going to find him," I mumbled, getting away before Jasper could screw with my emotions again (it was part of the special knack thing) and heading to the river.

I found him pacing at the riverbank, mumbling nervously to himself and wringing his hands. Every so often, he would run his hand through his messy bronze hair and bite his lip.

"Edward?"

"Bella! Where the hell did you go? Didn't you think to tell anyone where you were going?! I was worried."

"Worried about what?"

"I was worried you'd gotten into trouble."

"Like what? Hm? Werewolf trouble? Worried I'd cross the line and get myself killed?"

If he could get paler, he did in that moment.

"I went to Jacob's house."

"What?!"

"Yeah. Sam… in order to avoid complications… ordered us to stay away from eachother."

He sighed. "I'm so sorry, Bella." He enclosed me in his arms and I instantly felt better.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't my place. I was going to tell you about the treaty… oh, you don't know how close I came to breaking it to look for you."

"You can't do that!" I yelled at him, alarmed.

"The hell I can't. You're part of the family now. I'd do anything for my family."

"Like keep me away from Jacob."

"Look, maybe there's a way for you to still be friends… phone, email… I don't know, but Sam is right. It's too dangerous for you two to be near each other."

"I don't want to lose my friend," I sniffed. "I've already lost everything else."

He hugged me tighter. "I know. Oh, I know, Bella… you don't know how much it kills me to see you in pain. I'm so sorry, Bella."

We wound up sitting by the river all night in silence, me curled up in his lap and his arms tight and protective around me. He sighed softly when the sun started to shine over the river again. "Dawn. The most beautiful time of day, don't you think?"

"I like sunset better. It's been so long since I've watched the sunset." I snuggled closer not wanting to get up just yet. "In Phoenix, the sunset in the desert is pretty amazing."

He started to play with my hair rather absently. "Tell me more about you, Bella."

"Well… let's see. What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Anything. Tell me."

I sighed. "When I was four I took ballet."

"Really? Were you good at it?"

"Remember when I almost ran into the tree?" He nodded. "That was me with super powers or whatever. Imagine me without them."

He laughed. "I'm glad this helped, then."

I made a sour face. "Yeah."

"Aww Bella, I didn't mean--"

"It's okay."

After a silence, "Do you want to talk about Jacob?"

I shrugged. "I guess."

"How did you guys meet?"

"My dad and his dad are best friends. We used to play in the rain a lot. Then, when I moved to Phoenix, I used to come up every summer until I started middle school. I hadn't seen Dad or Jacob after that until last summer, but Jake and I always talk. " I made a face again. " Or used to." I sighed. "I was supposed to come here from Italy. To see them. I just graduated, you know… my college was a big deal for Renee… she wanted me to see Dad before I went."

"Where did you decide to go?"

"I was accepted to Dartmouth, NYU, Yale. Hadn't heard from Harvard. Princeton's acceptance letter came two days before the trip."

"So you're an Ivy League girl."

I nodded proudly. "Straight A's since sixth grade, hadn't missed yet. Also, a lot of AP classes helped."

"Wow. You like to learn. What were you going to major in?"

"Pre-law."

"Hm. A lawyer. No wonder you like to argue so much."

I hit him with the stick on the ground next to him. "Shut up."

"Ouch! Can you at least warn me when you're going to play Matilda?"

I laughed. "You deserved it."

"So where do you want to go?"

"Huh?"

"I was going to go to University of Alaska."

"Really? Good school, but… aren't you a vampire?"

"Yeah. High school and college in vicious, never ending cycle… it sort of sucks. I've graduated from college seven times. Forensic Science Music Theory, Theatre, Philosophy, Biology… and so on. Now it was going to be Music Performance."

"You like music a lot, don't you?"

He nodded. "Music is what life sounds like."

I thought about that for a long time.

His shaking me snapped me back to reality. "Hey. Let's head back, okay? I know you have a lot to think about today. Let's get change and just chill in your room today."

I shook my head. "No, I don't want to think. I want to decorate my room. You and Alice _have _to take me shopping."

"You know, you never struck me as a person that loves shopping."

"I don't. It's a necessary evil."

He laughed. "Alright. Your bum's all dirty. Get some fresh clothes and I'll tell Alice."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

We decided to sneak in through Edwards Room to avoid teasing. It only made it worse. The second I walked out the door, Emmett was standing there.

"Whoa! Jazz, check it out! Edward and Bella have unlocked the key to having quiet sex without destroying things!"

Jasper came running, stopping right in front of me as I approached the staircase. "Ooh, ooh! Tell me, what's the secret?"

I smirked, leaning in as if I were to whisper in his ear. He leaned toward me, grinning. I put my shield up, and he tumbled down the stairs. He managed to gain control of himself in the middle of the staircase, but not before I made sure he took a couple of good hits. I also pushed him down the rest of the way with my eyes.

Esme and Alice came running in at the commotion. Alice saw Jasper land in an unceremonious heap at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh my Gosh! Jazz, what'd you do?"

Edward grabbed my arm and yanked me back into his room. We listened through the door.

"It was her," he was saying.

"Who? Jasper, there's no one up there."

Emmett burst out laughing from his hiding place at the top of the staircase. I could tell Edward was fighting to keep his laughter under control too.

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella."

"You guys… don't think I'm crazy, do you? I mean, I've been acting like a loon, hitting you guys and--"

"Nonsense. We're stronger than most people; we can handle it. There's been a prank war going on in this house for like, thirty years now. And it seems like you'll be the key to my survival… Jasper and Esme have been cooking up something since December. What do you say we team up and pull an awesome prank on Rose?"

"I don't know… Rose doesn't seem to like me very much… especially after I chucked that vase at vase at Emmett's head."

"Don't worry. Plenty of times, she's wanted to do the exact same thing." He pointed at his temple and grinned. "I would know."

I had to laugh. "You're an idiot. Alright, fine. I'm in on this prank war. But my shield will be up the whole time, just in case."

Edward just laughed.


	8. Bellissima

**A/N: sorry i know it' been a while since i've posted. still taking ideas for a title. these next couple chapters have a little bit of everything. it'll be made obvious in the next few chapters that i don't like Tanya very much... Bella's opinion of her is pretty much mine, on a less..._mild... level. LOL_ i hope you guys enjoy this.**

**cheers! **

**~temporary insanity**

* * *

Edward and I had a plan. Rosalie and Emmett slashed Edward and Alice's tires last week, so Jasper, Alice, Edward, and I planned our revenge: I, with my mind, would hold a bucket of water, which inadvertently contained purple hair dye, over the stairs. One of them would walk under it and I would dump the bucket.

It worked like a charm. Rose was walking in with Emmett… they were heading out for a night in their house… to, you know, _destroy_ it. They were having a heavy make out session right under my bucket. I was in Edward's room and he told me when to do it. I'm sure everyone in Forks heard the shrieking and 'I'll kill you's that shook the house as they dried off and the next morning when they realized their hair had a nice violet tint to it. Poor Rose was murderous.

The next day, I was walking into my room and noticed that I wasn't in my room. I was in Jasper's room. I scoured my memory and determined that I was, in fact in my room. So what happened?

Then Edward knocked, looking murderous as well. "Did your stuff get switched too?"

I had to laugh. "Wow. Really?"

He nodded. "All my music is missing and I can't find my stereo," he explained through gritted teeth. "My CD's were in the basement."

Uh-oh. I learned something very quickly: like his Volvo, Edward's stereo and CD collection (which had over three thousand CD's) were very sacred.

I really just wanted to find my jewelry box… it contained my mother's wedding ring. To my dismay, it was gone. I checked Jasper's room, Rosalie's… totally gone. My lip quivered. "Edward… my mom's ring…"

"Don't worry; I'll kill them for the both of us."

"Okay… make them give back our stuff."

"I have a plan. Don't worry about a thing."

"Edward, where are you going?"

"To pay Rose and Emmett a visit."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When we got to Rose and Emmett's own place, I understood fully the destroying thing. Edward put his finger over his lips and snuck into the house. I was worried about something falling on him. What would I tell Carlisle?

He came back with an evil grin on his face and two sets of keys in his hands. "I'll take the Jeep," he whispered. "You take the M3."

I grinned. "Okay." We quickly sped away and I followed Edward out of Forks. Out of Washington. Awy from the west coast. I picked up my cellphone. "Alright, where are we going?"

"We're dropping their cars off… someplace far."

"Tell me where."

"Nope. They're following us. If I tell you, they will hear."

"Really? They're that close?"

"Mm-hmm. They're about a mile behind. I'm turning left. There's gas in my trunk… Emmett likes to drive until he runs out of gas."

"That's kind of dumb."

'He gets distracted."

I laughed. "Okay."

"We have about a minute."

I pulled over and ran over to where he was. I gassed the car in almost forty seconds, and we were on our way.

Edward called my cell. "I can hear their thoughts. Rose is going to kill us. Emmett's thinking about giving you a cup full of blood with hot sauce."

"Ooh. I'll be sure to watch out for that. I always hated hot sauce."

"I have to admit, that would be sort of funny…"

"Shut the hell up, Edward." At that moment, a canary yellow Porsche appeared in my rear-view mirror. I grinned. "Looks like we have company."

"Great. She knows where we're going. Rose and Emmett don't want to run anymore. They're ready to call a truce."

"Can we pull over?"

"No. We're gonna go the whole way."

"Okay. Lead the way."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

We finally arrived in St Louis, Missouri at around dusk. We pulled into a club and waited for the others. Rose and Emmett arrived a few minutes after us.

"Damn you, Edward!"

"I hate the two of you."

"Aww, Emmett… you don't really mean that, do you?" I batted my eyelashes and made a show of becoming the picture of an abashed child.

He sighed. "Does she do that to you too?" he asked Edward.

He laughed. "I'd better not say anything." Then Emmett raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded solemnly. Then he reached over and smacked him. "Back to the task at hand. We're here to negotiate a hostage situation. And then party."

I straightened. "I'm going to cut to the chase here. I want my mom's ring back or I'll blow this car sky high."

Rose's mouth fell open. "Whoa, okay… hold on a minute. There's no need for Violence against the car. Let's just talk about this."

"You have insurance. You're good. I however, do not have insurance on the only thing I have left of my mother."

"Bella, honey, don't worry. As long as the car stays safe, so does your stuff. Your ring is in a secret safety deposit box. We put it there so it wouldn't get lost."

"Yeah, well unless my stereo is back in my room by day after tomorrow, this jeep isn't going to have very much fun off-roading… into the river…"

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

Alice and Jasper stood by the whole time, silent laughter in their eyes.

I glared at Emmett. "Okay, so which one of you has our stuff? I want my room back. And why the hell did you switch mine and Jasper's room, anyway?"

"Your expression was priceless."

Edward snickered. "It sort of actually was."

"Your Volvo will be next."

"Shutting up."

"So is it a deal? Our stuff is back by day after tomorrow or your cars meet their makers."

They both nodded.

"Let's party," said Alice, breaking the tension.

We all agreed and made it in easily.

"Bella," Jasper said over the noise, "I dare you to order a drink."

I glared at him. "You're on." I headed over to the bar and scanned the list of drinks, grinning. "I'll have a Bloody Mary."

"Oh, the irony," said Jasper from behind me.

I laughed and grinned at the bartender. "Thanks."

He tried to flirt with me, but he looked over my left shoulder and seemed to think better of it. I followed his gaze to see Edward glowering at him with a rather violent expression.

I took my drink and marched over to him. "Just what the goddamn hell is your problem, huh?"

"And what the hell is yours?" he countered.

"I was having a conversation."

"You were letting him hit on you."

"And that's a problem because…?" he was silent. That made me angry. "Screw you, Edward." I poured my Bloody Mary on his shirt and stormed outside.

"Bella… Bella, wait!"

I ignored him.

"Bell, please?"

"Why? So you can own me?"

"No, Bella… no, I'm sorry, okay? I just… I feel very… _protective_… of you."

I stopped walking. I glowered down at my feet anyway, still angry. "I don't need you to protect me from a miserable human," I snapped bitterly.

"Oh Bella…"

"Save it, Edward." But I was starting to simmer down. After a moment, I didn't even really understand why I was so angry. Was it him? Or was it me? Was I really mad about him stopping the bartender from flirting? Or was I mad that I didn't mind?

_You did not just think that out loud, Bella Swan. You don't want him. He doesn't want you. You're here because those Italian assholes didn't want anything to do with you._

"Bella?" his voice was barely above a whisper, and velvety smooth. "Don't be mad at me." I could hear the pout in his voice. "Please, _Bellissima._"

I finally had to give in. "Bellissima?"

"Yup. Bellissima. Super beautiful." he gave me the most adorable half-smile and kissed my forehead. "Let's head in, okay?"

"Okay, Edward."I nodded against him, letting him pull me closer as he led us inside.

"Edward!" Alice came running out to the door. "Carlisle texted me. He says we have to come home; Tanya's there."

Edward sighed. "Oh. Alright. You drive Emmett's car. You know the place. I'll take the Porsche and Rose and Emmett. Bella will follow you in Rosie's car."

"Edward! Are you still serious about that?"

We both nodded solemnly. They trudged over to Alice's car glumly, and I revved Rosalie's engine a little, just to piss her off.


	9. War

When Alice and I finally got back to the house, I heard a musical giggled followed by a quiet sigh. "Oh Edward, You're so funy, do you know that?"

"Is that Tanya?" I asked Alice.

She nodded.

My reaction confused me. I was very angry. And hurt. Why? I didn't own him. Like he didn't own me. So why did I suddenly feel like ripping them both limb from limb and putting them in the fireplace when I saw her with her hand on his chest?

When she saw me, her eyes widened and she stood. "Hi. I'm Tanya. You're the new girl."

"Bella," put in Edward from the couch. I could tell he was suddenly very awkward. He didn't like this very much.

I smiled sweetly at her. "Hi. It's so good to finally meet you. This family thinks so highly of you." _Though I don't see why. You're throwing yourself at their favorite son._

"I know… oh thank you. It's good to meet you too." She said the last part rather begrudgingly. "So…" she said after an extremely uncomfortable silence, "how do you like it here so far?"

I straightened to my full height. "I love it. Everyone here is so supportive of me… I have a lot of adjusting to do. And Edward… is so amazing to me. Really. He's been my greatest help."

"I know how he is, Bella," she said, concealing her disdain well. "He has been such a gentleman since I met him… a long time ago. He is truly my man… I mean, best friend…" she acted like she'd stuttered, but I knew well what she was trying to tell me. From the way Edward shifted uncomfortably, I could tell he did too. "Well, I'll excuse myself now. I guess since you have the guest room now, I'll be staying with Edward." She turned to him, her golden eyes pleading and seductive. "Is that alright?"

He nodded mutely, his expression extremely uncomfortable. "I'll, uh… get you settled." And he hightailed it out of there.

Tanya murmured her farewells, smiling at each person in the room in turn. When it was my turn, she glared. I glared right back. There was a snarl building in her throat, but it didn't intimidate me. I knew I was stronger than her. Her lip curled back over her teeth just a little as her snarl grew more pronounced.

This was war.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Edward?" I knocked gently on his door.

"Come in" he called to me. "Hi Bella."

"Hi," I said shyly, staring at my toes.

"What's up?"

"Didn't want to be alone."

"Hmm. Are you sure you aren't just asking me to throw my drink at you?"

"Shut up, Edward," I whined like a child.

He nodded. "Okay. I'll just pretend you aren't checking up on me."

"Did you have sex with her?"

"No. I'd probably still be with her."

"Huh?"

"Um… vampires… don't sleep around."

"Oh."

"She acts like you have."

He chuckled nervously. "She… is in love with me. I don't love her back. She's known that for sixty years now. And every time I see her, it's the same thing." He sighed. "I've learned to put up with it."

"You're patient. I wanted to rip her limb from limb."

"Is that so?" he asked cockily, a smirk gracing his lips and brightening his pale face.

If I were human, I would have blushed. "Uh… well, she… I could tell you were uncomfortable… and I, well, I d-didn't like to… see you that way."

He grinned. "If you say so."

"I do! I say so."

"So then it must be so." He was only half joking.

"Ugh. I'm going back to my room now."

"No. Stay. I like your company."

I sighed. _Is that all you like about me, Edward Cullen?_

He grinned as I sat back down, melting my stone insides. "Thank you, _Bellissima._ Good night." And he hauled me into his lap, holding me close.

"It's not like I'm going to sleep," I mumbled into his chest.

"You don't like it when I hold you?"

_Yes. I love it when you hold me. I might not have ever survived if you hadn't come that day and carried me away. You make me safe. I need you to hold me. Don't leave me for that skank. _Good thing my shield is up. If he'd heard all that, it would have been very, very bad.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Well I sat curled up on Edward's lap all night while he wrote some music. At about two in the morning, Tanya came in and planted herself on Edward' bed—in booty shorts and a belly-bearing tank top—and started chatting up a storm.

Edward managed to stay focused on his music and I listened to his even breathing instead of her chatter. Eventually she got the hint and pulled out her lap top, sulking.

At dawn, I realized my throat was very dry. My stomach might have even growled a little. And I was getting more and more tempted to get my breakfast from the car that broke down about a mile from the drive way. There was a man there. I could vaguely hear his heartbeat. I could virtually taste him from here. _Alright. Enough. Tell Edward to hunt with you, he'll keep you focused._

"Are you alright, Super Bella?"

I chuckled. "Well, I'm kinda hungry. Thirsty. Whatever. And there's a guy whose car broke down over there and he's starting to sound really good right about now--"

He dropped his pencil right away. "Okay, alright. I'll take you hunting." He eyed me with a cautious glare. "Across the river. Away from the road."

I mock pouted and snapped. "Damn," I sighed. "And I was hoping."

"Isabella. Let's. go. Now." He knew I was joking, but he glared at me anyway.

Tanya looked up from her laptop. "Can I come too?"

"Sure. I'll get Emmett and Alice and we'll make it a party."

I nodded in agreement. I knew Alice hadn't hunted in a few weeks, and Emmett and Alice would keep me from ripping _her_ arm off if she touched him. Besides, the rumor around town was that there was a grizzly bear problem. Emmet loved taking out the grizzly bears.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was as I'd predicted. Edward,s shirt got torn while he was hunting and Tanya immediately had to point it out and 'fix it'. I glared at her a lot on the way home. I sat next to Emmett. He was the only one strong enough to hold me back if I fought her.

At home, Tanya smiled sweetly at Edward. "Edward, love. Do you think I could borrow Bella for a moment?"

He frowned, confused, and excused himself from the conversation we were having, saying he needed to change his shirt anyway.

Her sweet glance turned cold. "Keep your hands off my man."

"He doesn't want you."

"Oh and he wants you?"

"It doesn't matter. Edward is my friend and I have the right to protect him from whores like you."

"You mean nothing to him. You're just a needy little orphan girl who useless to everyone! You're a burden to my family."

I stared at her in shock.

"Oh yeah. I know all about your little mishap in Italy. Edward told me. He said he felt sorry for you. Just sorry and nothing else."

"You're lying," I whispered. "Edward's my friend…"

"No. he just pities you. Like everyone else. Everyone except me. Because I know the truth about you. I know that you will never amount to more than a manipulating whore."

At that moment, Edward tripped lightly down the stair and I made sure my shield was up. "Hey. What's going on?" his smile fled from his face when he saw mine. His eyes turned to Tanya. "You're both blocking your thoughts. What happened?"

I looked away. He glared between us. "If you'll excuse me, bella, Tanya and I are going to talk." He sounded angry.

"But…"

"Now."

I sighed as he walked away.


	10. My Hero

I wandered around the house, trying to keep my mind off what was happening. If I had ever felt like trash in my life, it was then. It wasn't my fault Renee and Phil…

I wanted to cry. Tanya was right. No one wanted me. Charlie wouldn't want me anymore because of what I am. Jacob already didn't for that reason. The Volturri got rid of me, even with my talents, which I've heard they're always in search for. I didn't belong anywhere and the worst part…Edward could never love me.

_Wait, why do you care about that? You don't love him. Sure he's you friend… he saved you from Volterra…_

_But that doesn't mean anything to him. He did it out of pity._

But then I remembered all the beautiful things he said to me. I remembered the way he held me protectively when I cried for Jacob, when I cried for my parents… the laughs we had stealing Rose and Emmett's cars, the anger that he felt when the bartender hit on me… and the subsequent joy and anger that coursed through me when he said he was protective of me. Were those all lies? Why did it matter?

I remembered how he started calling me _Bellissima _and Super Bella. Super Bella because Bella in Italian is beautiful and Bellissima means very beautiful or super beautiful. I remembered the way he smiled after his calling that would make me either laugh or get embarrassed.

And I knew the answer. _Because you fell for him. Hard. _The more I thought about it, the more I knew the truth. I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I ran around looking for any sign of him in the house, frustrated when everyone said they hadn't seen him around in a while.

I ran outside, thinking he might be at our spot near the river. And that he was. With Tanya. Pinned against a tree. He said something, and then she pressed her lips to his. Not wanting to see anymore, I ran.

As I ran, I could hear him shouting. "Bella! Bella wait! Please!"

I ran harder. He didn't want me. He was hers. He had lied. I trusted him and he lied. Now I didn't have anyone to go to. Anyone _at all._

"Bella! Bella, please, let me explain…"

I whirled to face him. "Explain what? That you've been lying about everything since day one? That you never wanted me around and that skank was the perfect opportunity to get rid of me? Well you got what you wanted, Edward! I'm _never_ going back to you or that house again!" I turned and tried to run again, but he was in front of me.

"No! Bella, please don't go. I don't want you to go."

"Don't you?"

"Please," he begged.

"She told me that all you felt for me was pity. That you didn't even want to be my friend. That I was a burden for you. That I'd never amount to anything. She said I was useless and a stupid little orphan girl and a whore. She said all those mean things, Edward. And when I went to talk to you about it, because I trusted you, I saw you kissing her. Do you really expect me to stay?"

"I told her to stop harassing you, Bella. I told her that I didn't want her… again… I stood up for you! Bella, believe me."

I looked away; the torture in his eyes and pain on his face would shake my resolve to leave. I would crumble.

"Bella, I never want you to go. Do you know why?" his voice dropped and he stepped closer to me. I didn't bother trying to keep my shield. Up. The truth was, I didn't want to be away from him. That and I needed him to see how jumbled and painful my thoughts were. He sighed. "Oh Bella, I'm sorry. Please let me apologize for her behavior. I spoke to her about it. And believe me, please, when I say I want you to stay. Do you know why?"

I shrugged.

"Because since the first day I saw you, I felt something for you I'd never felt before."

I froze.

_What?!_

He actually chuckled. "Oh Bella, don't you see? I love you," he whispered.

This time I was stunned into silence.

_!!!!!_

"Please Bella…" he whispered painfully, the rawness in his voice clawing at my stone hart and reducing it to scraps.

"I don't mean for you to be hurt, Bella. You know I hate it when you hurt."

I finally looked up at him. If I were human, the tears would be making my vision blurry. But there was still a tight knot in my throat blocking both my voice and my breath.

"I love you," he whispered again. "Not her. Never her. Only you." He tilted my chin up gently, forcing me to look at him again. "Do you believe me?"

I couldn't stand it anymore. With a sob, I crumbled in Edward's arms and we sunk to the ground as he soothed me. Eventually, I stopped dry crying, but I still clung to his shirt like a lifeline, my face never lifting from the crook of his neck.

Finally, several hours later, I got curious and looked around. We were in the little meadow Edward had shown me. I looked up at him. "We're here! This is our spot."

He laughed. "I hereby dub this Edward and Bella's Meadow," he proclaimed in a perfect British accent, with a grand voice.

I laughed with him.

He sighed, stroking my cheek. "I liked Edward and Bella."

I smiled up at him. "Me too."

He smiled that breathtaking crooked half-smile of his, and I stared at him for a long time. He raised an eyebrow. "Your eyes are clearing out a bit. They aren't so red."

"Good. I like yellow better."

He laughed. "You said that already. Don't worry, Super Bella. Your eyes are beautiful. they can only get better."

I hid my face in his chest, my vampire equivalent for blushing.

He picked up my chin and brushed my nose gently with his before smiling at me. "Let's get back, okay?"

I jumped to my feet, spreading an imaginary cape. "Super Bella to the rescue!"

Before I knew what was happening, there were lips on mine. Warm, perfect lips. Vampires don't need to breathe, but I felt out of breath when he finally pulled away. He stared into my eyes for a long time before kissing me again. "Super Bella," he breathed. "My hero."

**A/N: hope you all liked it. Still looking for title suggestions. Free teasers are still up for grabs for the person who names my story!**

**Sorry it's taken so long to post. I've been busy and my birthday was on Friday. Anyhoo… hope you all like it. More soon, sooner than this time, I promise.**

**Cheers!**

**~temporary insanity**


	11. Edible

I wasn't paying careful attention to my shield on our way home, so when I started thinking the impending reactions of the family—particularly Tanya—Edward stopped in front of me and, naturally, I walked right into him.

"You don't have to be nervous, My Bella."

"No? I don't particularly fancy fighting with that hooker over you."

"You won't. She'll be angry. Maybe she'll try to talk me out of being with you. But she knows you're way stronger than her, love. She won't try to fight you. Now the issue is _you_ fighting _her."_

"Didn't you hear anything I just said? I don't want to fight her."

"If you knew what she was thinking, you might change your mind."

"Then don't tell me."

"Then it's settled." He smiled that gorgeous crooked smile of his. "I love you and no one wil fight about it. If they do, they'll have to fight with me."

"But I thought I was the Super Bella," I whined like a child.

"Sometimes superheroes need someone to fight for them too, Bella."

I pouted. "But you're mine. So I get to scratch her eyes out for looking at you wrong. I promise then I'll let you go back and get the bartender."

He laughed. "I took care of him. Although… if I recall correctly, you were quite upset about that. Were you looking at the bartender, Bella?"

I pretended to think about it. "Well… I was somewhat hungry. Bloody Bob sounded better than Bloody Mary."

He groaned. "Good god, Bella."

"What?"

"That is a horrible joke."

"I'm sorry."

We reached the house and Alice ran out of the house screaming. "Oh Bella, I'm so glad! Yay! But my brother… he's sort of fragile. Don't hurt him, okay?"

I just stared at her dumbly. "Uh—uh, okay."

"Cool. Now that you're Edward's girlfriend, we have to take you shopping. You have to look amazing for your dates with him."

"I really don't--"

"No sister of mine ever goes on a date looking ridiculous! And that's final. Now let me see your eyes."

"Alice…"

"No, don't interrupt. I saw it, so it's going to happen."

"What's going to happen?"

"You and Tanya will argue. Then Emmett and Jasper will have to hold Tanya back…" she giggled at that. "Then Edward will take you out on a date. And I have to get your clothes and make up ready while you make that hooker leave my house. Let me see your eyes now, Bella. We won't have much time to get you gorgeous again, and I need to choose your eye shadow now so I'm not stressed over it later."

I looked up at her. She grinned. "Wow. I know just what to do."

"Aww, Alice!" whined Edward.

"What!"

"She's translating the US Constitution into French. She won't let me see what you'll look like tonight."

I stared between them. They were an odd couple. "If you say so. Can we go inside already?"

Alice grinned and led the way, asking me something about shoes. Out of habit, I tuned her out and listened to Edward's breathing instead. It was soothing.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" I looked into his liquid gold eyes.

"I love you. I know Alice gets on your nerves when she gets like this… but bear with her, love. They all have been waiting for this."

"For what?"

"Me. To fall in love."

"Oh."

"They just didn't think it'd be…"

"WHAT?!" Tanya, who had been walking out to the TV, heard their conversation and screeched.

I whirled to face her, smug. "I'm sorry, what? Did the hooker speak?"

"I AM NOT A HOOKER!"

"THEN KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY MAN!"

Edward stood awkwardly aside as our shouting match escalated. "Um… a loose definition of the term 'man' but yes, Tanya, it's true. I love Bella."

"But you were supposed to love me," she sniffed pathetically.

I snorted. "According to who? You? How old are you? A hundred, maybe fifty? Before you got obsessed with Edward, how many other people did you sleep with?"

"You Bitch!"

"Hmm… I'm guessing… four or five? Maybe eight at best." I clicked my tongue in disgust. "I guess you're not even that great at being a hooker, then, because they get that many people in a day."

Tanya lunged at me then, fury making her eyes dark as night. I dodged her. I wanted to inflict the pain on her that she did on me. I didn't want to kill her. I wanted her to want to die.

"Guess what I heard? I heard that _You're_ the orphan girl. That your mom was stupid enough to think she could go behind those Italian bastards back and they burned her ass."

She flinched.

"You told me all those things because you were jealous. You were jealous because _you're_ the burden around here, because no one wants _you_ around, because _you're_ the disgraceful whore, and now, to top it off," I went from furious and hurt to smug, "I have your man."

This time she didn't miss. She had me on the ground in an instant. Just as Alice predicted, Emmett and Jasper had to haul her off me. Edward pulled me aside to calm me down.

"HE'S MINE!" she screamed as they dragged her away, "YOU'RE A WHORE! YOU'LL ALWAYS BE JUST HIS WHORE!"

"You're wrong," I told her calmly. "Edward doesn't fancy whores. Couldn't you tell?"

"Bitch!"

"Buh-Bye." I waved at her sarcastically as Emmet and Jasper shut the door on her.

Edward sighed. "Should I be happy or upset?"

"Why would you be upset?"

"Because, Bella. I didn't tell you those things about her so you could hurt her. It's about time someone put her in her place, but honestly, Bella?"

I shrugged. "Hey, sometimes the truth hurts. Besides, whose side are you on?"

"The side where we forget about this because we want to make it at eight-thirty and it's seven forty-five."

"Agreed," chimed Alice. "Let's get started on you, dearest sister." She turned back to glare at Edward. "And make up your mind so I know what to make her wear."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Okay, Super Bella. Movie first, then bowling. Then if you want, we can hit a club."

"Okay. It's not like I'll be tired." As long as I can hit on the bartender, I added in my head. I had let my shield down. I knew he heard.

He chuckled. "Nope, not allowed. I don't like sharing my Super Bella. Especially when the lowly, unsuspecting civilian happens to be _edible_." He said the last part with a pointed look at me.

"What'd I do?" I asked him, widening my eyes slightly in a gesture of innocence.

"Nothing," he grumbled, looking back at the road.

I pouted. "Edward, you know I love you, don't you?" I moved very close to him; he could feel my breath on his neck and his breath hitched. He nodded, trying hard to focus on the road.

"You know I won't hit on the bartender if you get angry."

"I know, Bella."

"You know I'd rather kiss you than eat the bartender, right?"

"I would hope so."

I sat back in my seat and pouted. "If I were edible, Edward, would you eat me?"

His breath hitched again as he heard the double entendre in my voice. "Bella, let me drive," he begged.

"I would sure eat you. Mmm, and you'd be yummy too."

He gulped.

"Joke's on you."

He parked at the cinema and instantly he was on me, his lips on mine, his hands mapping every inch of skin he could reach.

Before I could react, or wrap my head around what was happening, he was holding open the passenger side door for me. I clamored out of the car, wobbling a little.

"Bella, I happen to think you're very… _edible._"

I swallowed hard and he smiled that amazing smile of his. "Joke's on you, girl," he said as he tapped the tip of my nose with his finger. Then he was gone.

It took a minute for me to snap out of it. "Hey! Wait up! Edward!"


	12. Cut it Out, Cullen!

**A/N: this one is for vampirelovers345… I think… that she was the one who had the idea for this chapter. **

**I have an idea floating around in my head for my new twilight fic… free teasers of that and/or my other new project for the person who names my story. There's a poll up on my profile. I'll be eliminating the 'I'll give my own idea' option soon, so please vote or give your ideas. The poll will be up until the end of august.**

**Another thing, I'm committed to finishing all of my fanfics, including my up and coming projects, but in a couple of weeks, I'm heading off for college. I'm going to have to do some serious time management, so after the above mentioned stories are finished, if I post again, it'll be few and far between. At least for a while. Until I get in the swing of things as a grown up. Doesn't mean I'll stop reading all your lovely work… I'll just not post my own so much.**

**Thanks to all my readers. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Cheers!**

**~temporary insanity**

"Good morning, Super Bella."

"It is a great morning, Oh Mighty Edward."

"I trust you had a pleasant night."

"I did, thank you." I giggled at him.

He opened his arms for me and I gladly jumped into them, still giggling. "Hi Edward."

"Hi, Bella." He kissed the tip of my nose.

"You missed."

He chuckled and bent to kiss my lips, but a voice made us suddenly jump apart.

I stared at him. "Jacob? I… what are you… I thought the treaty…"

"What are you doing kissing him?" Jacob asked angrily.

"He's my boyfriend," I snapped, suddenly angry. "I can kiss him if I want to."

"So you turned me down so you could make out with a stupid _leech_?!"

"Hey!" I said, injured. "You forget that I'm a _leech_ now too."

He turned his dark, angry gaze on Edward. "This is your fault, Cullen."

"How the hell is it my fault?! We saved her from the Italians! They were going to kill her! The least you could do is to show some respect to your supposed friend, you ungrateful, pathetic _dog._" Edward's words were snarled harshly and full of anger.

Jacob started to shake uncontrollable. Soon he was vibrating like that other kid, whose name, I learned, was Paul. "I could kill you, worthless bloodsucker, I'll kill you--" and then he exploded. It was the single most strange and horrifying thing I'd ever seen.

But you know what they say, there will always be more messed up stuff than what you just saw. The next thing was scarier than the first… Jacob's massive, furry brown body flying at Edward in slow motion. Instinctively, I flung myself between them and there was a horrible pain in my neck and shoulder, then on my chest. Then all faded to black.

There was darkness and pain pressing on me from everywhere. I could hear Edward's furious roar and lots of horrible growling and snapping as they fought. Once I found my lips, I worked on finding my voice. "Don't fight," I begged, but the darkness pressed on and it made me unable to move or, what was most important, talk.

I had to work for it, but I managed to find Edward with my shield and the awful tumult stopped. This was good, because having to hold my shield up was starting to hurt too. It was then that I realized that Edward could hear my thoughts and was reacting to them. _Edward, it hurts. I hurt. Please stop fighting. I can't—_

"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, love. Can you hear me?"

_Yes… please, it hurts._

"I know, love. Alice is calling Carlisle. He'll be home soon, okay? Shh, it's okay…" he continued to soothe me as I struggled to handle the pain and find my voice. I needed to speak to Jacob. Was he even still there? I couldn't hear him over the pain in my head.

"He's here, Bella. He's feeling awfully guilty about accidentally attacking you."

In my head, I snorted. _Tell him that if he still wants to be my friend, he'll need to say the hell out of my business with my boyfriend. I'm not leaving you. Argh, this sucks eggs… Jacob owes me like a billion brownie points. Tell him I said that, too. It'll make him laugh._

Edward was my faithful messenger, and Jacob did laugh like I'd predicted.

"Oh Bella. I'm sorry… I just… you know that I love you, don't you? That I hate that you're like this?"

_Trust me, I hate this too. But not all of it is bad._ I thought of my newfound love with Edward. _NO, it's not that bad at all. But please… I don't love you. I told you that last summer. I fell in love with Edward and… I'm sorry, Jake. So sorry._

Edward was my faithful messenger again, and Jacob gave a sad sigh. "I know, Bella. But the second your stupid bloodsucker gets out of line, you look me up and I'll kick his ass, okay?"

The weak chuckle I gave came out loud in the form of a soft breath.

_I love you, Edward. _

"I know, Bella," he said. "I love you too."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Edward hovered over me until I recovered from his little brawl with my best friend. It turned out that my arm was dislocated and detached from my body. I also had some bites on my neck and shoulder… good thing it wouldn't scar. The only thing that would scar, Carlisle told me, was if another vampire bit me.

It was a couple of weeks before I was up to par… according to Edward, anyway. He didn't let me leave the house for that long, anyway. Jake started coming around. It was awkward at first, because both Jacob and Edward would get wary and defensive, but they relaxed slightly by the time I could actually carry out my threats to them. Damn, I was really looking forward to fighting them, too. Oh well.

Today, Seth was along for the party. So were Quil and Embry. I didn't talk very much while they were there, though. I was still a bit sore, and I was too busy daydreaming about kissing Edward. I was curled in his lap while he and the guys talked. the subject shifted from sports to music to cars. Rosalie and Alice jumped eagerly into that discussion, offering to let them see their own awesome cars. They all filed out, talking about Edward and Alice's new acquirements, Edward's Austin Martin Vanquish, and Alice's Porsche 911 Turbo, which he'd bought for her.

Edward was quickly bored and looked down at me. "Are you alright, love?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Kissing you."

"it would seem that you have nothing better to do with your time."

"Nope. And it stinks 'cause I have all the time in the world."

Edward shrugged innocently. "Well I don't mind it so much."

"Of course you don't."

"You don't like kissing me?" he did the innocent thing again. There was mock hurt in his voice.

I shook my head. "I love kissing you."

He broke into a grin.

I laughed. "You're an idiot."

"But you love me."

I sighed happily, snuggling deeper into his embrace. I felt his lips on the crown of my head. "I do love you." After a moment, "Edward?" I pouted.

"Yes, love."

"Can I kiss you now?"

"And what if I say no?"

"I'll pout." And I did just that.

He laughed and pressed his lips to mine.

Then Jacob, Seth, Quil, and Embry chorused, "Cut it out, Cullen!"


	13. Surprise

Well Edward and Jacob managed to be civil to each other, even though the tension in the room when they're around always tripled or so.

The two that couldn't be in the same room, however, were Jake and Rosalie. They had the most antagonistic relationship in history. It was actually somewhat comical. They couldn't fight and they actually tried to be friends… it came out more like Rose and Jacob having verbal sparring matches and ridiculous arguments.

Once we all actually sat down on the couch to watch, bowl of popcorn on hand. Of course, we didn't eat it; Quil and Embry did.

This day found us on the couch again, watching Rose and Jacob argue over the punch line of a blonde joke—those were Jacob's favorite—and laughing our behinds off.

Edward, Carlisle, and Esme all went hunting. I've learned that hunting is a rather intimate activity. Since we give ourselves completely to our senses, we are vulnerable and open. It's always something we prefer to do with the ones most familiar to us.

I was sad that Edward was leaving me here.

"I promise I'll take you for a walk when I get back. Just the two of us." And he kissed me. Then he was gone, running full speed and leaping across the river and into the woods after his parents.

"I love you," I called after him. I heard his musical laugh in response.

He walked through the door as Jacob got to the punch line of another joke. His eyes were full of excitement to the point where he literally glowed. He couldn't sit still.

Suddenly Alice squealed. "Ahh!"

Edward laughed. "That makes me feel better Alice."

"Congratulations, big brother. Oh my gosh! I have to start planning--"

"Alice! It's supposed to be a surprise."

Alice grinned brightly at him and dashed off to her room, muttering about dress sizes and measurements.

I was confused. "Edward?"

"Yes love." He smiled radiantly and I almost lost my train of thought.

"What's happening?"

"Come for a walk with me, My Angel, and I'll explain it all." He extended his arm with another glowing grin, and I was happy to skip to him and let him lead us outside.


	14. Forever

"Okay. Why are we here?"

"We're here to talk."

I stopped walking and turned to him. "You aren't breaking up with me, are you?"

He actually laughed, and that made me even more nervous. "No, love. I'll never leave you. I'll stay as long as you want me."

"Forever and ever," I declared, leaning up to kiss him.

Instead of kissing me, he stepped back."You really want me forever?"

"Yes."

"Forever? For richer or poorer, in sickness or health, till death do us part? Even though that's a bit unrealistic, since we don't get sick or die... do you really mean it?"

I couldn't answer as he slid to his knee in front of me.

"Forever and ever mine, Super Bella?"

I gaped at him like an idiot while he pulled a beautiful antique ring out of his pocket. "Will you marry me?"

I nodded. "Okay," I managed to squeak.

He smiled his radiant grin again as he slid it on my finger. "I love you, my Super Bella."

"I love you too, Mighty Edward, King of Hearts."

He laughed, his golden eyes sparkling. "As long as I'm the king of yours."

I giggled and jumped happily into his arms, which were outstretched just for me. "You are, Edward. You are."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Edward carried me back home from our meadow, since I didn't feel like letting go of him after he proposed. I was so happy I could burst. I already knew what I wanted my wedding to be like. I wanted the colors to be baby pink and wine, and I wanted the theme to be centered on the ring Edward gave me. He said it was his mother's ring when she got married in 1899. So I wanted lots of antique things. We talked about it on the way home—when he wasn't kissing me _somewhere…_ my lips, my hair, any piece of skin he could get his lips on! I quite enjoyed it—and he liked the idea. He and I also both agreed that our guest list would not have more than fifty invitations.

When Alice saw us come in, she jumped up and ran over to me. "Oh Bella, we have to get planning. I was looking for wedding dresses and I saw just the thing… oh and, only fifty people? I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?"

We both shook our heads.

"Drat. Well you have to choose the bridesmaid's dresses and the maid of honor's dress and of course, the tuxes for the groomsmen and the father of the bride--"

"Wait! Father of the bride?"

Edward shook his head. "No. Bella, no. for your safety as well as his own, it's not a good idea."

"Why not?! Still think I'll eat him?"

"Bella…" he sighed. "Do you remember those vampires that changed you?"

I nodded, frowning. I didn't like to think of them. They made me afraid.

"They are the sort of rule enforcers of our kind. The royalty, if you will. And they aren't keen on humans knowing we exist."

"How not keen?" I asked warily.

"Both the humans and the vampires who told them are punishable by death."

"We don't have to tell him. Please, Edward…"

"If the wrong people find out--"

"No one will know except for him."

"No."

"Please--"

"I WILL NOT RISK LOSING YOU!"

I stared, stunned.

"Please," he begged, "you're the only woman I can ever love."

"Edward, I can see that nothing will happen." Alice spoke up in a calm voice.

He suddenly clutched me as close to his chest as possible. "Are you sure?"

"He'll be very angry, but he'll be at the wedding. He won't tell anyone. In fact, he's going to make up something about freak mind-control genetic testing."

"Well I guess that isn't too far from the truth," muttered Edward sarcastically. "If this is what you want, then, _Bellissima,_ then this is what we'll do."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

We arrived at Charlie's house and let ourselves in with the key from under the eave.

"Are you sure this isn't too creepy?"

"No… I'm the only one who knows where this key is… besides you, now, I guess. He'll know."

"If you say so."

Twenty minutes later, he arrived, sighing and hanging up his jacket. He put away his gun and came to sit in the living room when he saw us. "Who the hell… what are you doing in my house?"

"No, sir. It's precisely her that we want to talk about." Edward answered my father's thoughts.

"In Italy, Bella and her family were conned by a group of people into taking a tour. There they were entrapped and the story you got was that they were all murdered."

"That's not what happened." As soon as I spoke, he turned to me. I was studying my shoes. My eyes were still red, albeit not so much, but I thought it still might be a bit troubling.

"Well then what did happen? Where is my daughter?!"

"Right here," I piped up rather quietly. "I've missed you, Daddy. I'm sorry I couldn't come see you sooner, but it wasn't safe."

"Bella… impossible… what…?"

"The people who conned us weren't people at all. They were vampires."

"Those don't exist."

"No?" I raised my eyes to him then and he gasped. "What. Did. They. Do?"

"They fed on us. Only it's not like you see in the movies. It's much more horrid, and painful. Everyone who is fed on dies. Except, this one vampire who fed on me was too carried away, and he didn't finish… you know. Vampires are venomous. The venom turns you into one of them if you're still alive."

My poor father didn't know what to say.

"They didn't know what to do with her… newborn vampires are very dangerous and reckless. They asked my father Carlisle to take her and train her in our ways."

Charlie's head snapped back to Edward. "Carlisle? Carlisle is one of them too?"

Edward nodded. "And Esme, and Rose and Emmett, and Jasper and Alice. He created all of us except Jasper and Alice. They were created by other vampires. But our coven—family—is different than others; we don't drink human blood. The Italians took Care of Carlisle when he was young, so they are good friends."

"How long have you—people—been around?"

"I was born in 1901. Carlisle found me in 1918, dying. He changed me. Next was Esme, one year later, then Rose in 1931, then Emmett in 1934."

"What about him?"

"He was born in the sixteen forties. In London."

Charlie's mouth was drawn into a permanent 'o'. Whether it was of surprise or horror, I could not tell.

"Daddy, we're here because I wanted you to know that I'm safe and… well, that I'm getting married."

"To who? Him?" he gestured to Edward, who was struggling not to laugh at whatever my Charlie was thinking.

I nodded.

Edward took over. "You see, vampires… once we find mates, we don't change our minds. Um… since we're immortal, our temperaments hardly change, so… you get the picture. Bella and I have found our mates in eachother. Bella would really like your blessing before we proceed with our wedding plans."

"You're going to get married whether I say yes or no, aren't you?"

I nodded again. "It's not… I can't help it, dad."

"I know…" he sighed, finally sitting down. "I just got you back, Bells," he whispered hoarsely. "I don't want to let you go yet."

"I know, Daddy. I just got you back too. But Edward is without a doubt the love of my life. I can't love anyone the way I love him. Please…"

He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "I love you honey. So much. If this is what makes you happy… how can I say no?"

I smiled at him. I was afraid to hurt him if I hugged him, so I opted for sitting next to him instead. "Thank you, Daddy."

"Are you doing okay, baby?" he reached out to touch my hair, shivering at the temperature f my skin. "You've gotten so beautiful. You look like an angel."

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Look at you… my God, You're so cold. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Vampire skin is like that."

"Oh my..." Charlie sat for a while and just marveled at my new looks. "Why are his eyes yellow like? Yours are kind of scary. Very beautiful, but scary."

"She is still young. The human blood that was in her system when she was changed lingers. As it burns off, our eyes change."

"Oh."

"Daddy, we have to go now."

"Can't you stay?"

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Will you visit me again?"

"As soon as we can," assured Edward. "I know my sister Alice is planning already. We have to reign her in, you know."

Charlie laughed. "I've always thought she was a lovely girl."

"Yes, when she's not planning something or lecturing us on fashion, she's pretty amazing," Edward agreed, and I giggled.

"I love you, Dad."

"Goodbye, Chief Swan. We will see you soon." He chuckled, "Yes, Bella is expecting you to walk her down the aisle. And yes, I do read minds."

"Oh."

"Yes, Bella has some special abilities of her own. She's telekinetic. And she has physical and mental shields."

"Oh."

"Charlie, I promise she is well taken care of. Please don't worry anymore. We only ask, for our anonymity, that you don't speak to anyone of what we talked about today."

"Okay. I know… I figured if no one in town knew, it's because you didn't want them to. Thank you for bringing my daughter home."

"I'll take care of her, Chief Swan. I promise. I love her."

"I know, son."

"Good bye. Goodbye, Bella."

"Bye, Daddy. Love you."

"You too, honey."

* * *

**A/N: okay, okay. i'm sorry this has taken so long to get back on track for... and i really do apologize for the last chapter being so short and so... cliffhanger-like. it was just to whet your appetite for this one.**

**greetings from lincoln, nebraska! i just got settled in to my dorm ans i'm finally getting this stupid internet to work, so... yeah. i don't know when i'll be able to post next, but my next update will be on my new is fic, how to save a life, and my other twilight fic, piano man.**

**peace and love.**

**cheers!**

**~temporary insanity**

**oh, ps-- still taking votes on this story's title!! please vote or send your own ideas!!! please, please, please!!**

**cheers!**

**~t.i.**


	15. Never Let Go

Our wedding was tomorrow. I was so excited, I doubted that I could sleep even as a human. I was sort of getting tired of the whole dress-up-Bella-Barbie thing. Shopping and trying on things, as well as matching color swatches and looking at countless venues and tiny details… It was never really my thing. But, when Edward came home with wedding bands last month, everyone, including Edward, had to chastise me for kissing him so much. It hit me again then how much we loved each other. They were simple, but very expensive. His was gold rimmed with platinum in the middle. I guessed, correctly, that Alice loved it and insisted on it. But mine was just a simple gold band, since Edward wanted me to keep the engagement ring. On the inside were inscribed two words: _My Hero_. I cried a lot when I read that, even though no tears came. Poor Jasper was suffering from the emotional mess I was in.

"Edward, get out." Alice barged into my room where we were talking quietly, content to be in each other's arms.

He tensed, instinctively holding me closer. "And if I don't want to go?"

"It's 11:59. It's bad luck to see the bride on the wedding day."

"Alice," he laughed, "We're going to be together no matter what luck befalls us."

I nodded in agreement, not wanting to let go either.

"It doesn't matter. Since you're going to be together forever, you only get to get married once. You have to do it the right way. Now out!"

He sighed, sensing that he wouldn't change her mind, and slid out from under me. "See you tomorrow, Super Bella."

"I'll be the one in white."

He smiled, kissing my forehead and then my lips. "I can't wait," he whispered just for me, then he turned and followed Alice away.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I could hardly believe it was me in front of the mirror again. Rosalie and Alice argued over what to do with my hair until I told them that Edward likes it best when it's loose. That got them finally in the game. They curled my hair and left it hanging down my back; the top of it was pulled back to hold the veil. My makeup was neutral, which I also insisted upon. Alice wanted to do something about heavy eyes and red lips… I told them no; my eyes, now gold, did not need any accent. So they begrudgingly put on some black eyeliner and mascara, and pink lip gloss, and that was the extent of my face paint.

Next came my dress. It was actually styled from the early 1800s; long before Edward's parents were alive. But it was too beautiful, and it was simple enough. It was made entirely of off-white satin. It had an empire waist and sleeves that were up to my elbows. It was completely covered with a white lace that formed the tail of the dress. The veil was a simple one, to complement the lacey patterns on the dress.

"You look so beautiful, baby girl."

"Thanks, daddy."

"Are you ready?"

I nodded as he offered me his arm.

Suddenly, Alice grabbed my arm, collapsing onto the floor. "Oh God, oh God," she mumbled over and over, her eyes glazed over as she witnessed something I could only assume was horrible. "Oh God, no, Oh God, please, no…"

"Alice!" I tried to get her attention, to talk about what was going on inside her head.

When she snapped out of it, she stared at me.

"What did you see, Alice? Tell me, please," I begged, honestly afraid.

"The Volturi," she gasped. "Edward was burning… they were dragging you away… I saw his wedding band on the ground… Jasper…" she gasped, clutching her sides in physical pain. "Jasper… they… he was burning… and he was telling me he loved me as the fire… as it burned him, and then he was dead… and you were gone, they took you away…"

I stared at her. It was impossible. Suddenly, I needed to be near Edward.

"Let's go, daddy," I said, taking his arm. "Alice, come on."

"Give me a minute."

Just then, Jasper, sensing our emotional distress, hurried into the room. "Is everything okay? Bella? Alice? Alice, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

She recounted her horrible vision again, and I shuddered over and over. Jasper studied me, then said, "You need him, Bella. Let's get you married, then we will worry about the rest."

I nodded, and He gathered Alice into his arms and soother her until she was ready to go. I heard the bridal march, and I was on my way.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Edward's expression was one of overwhelming love and sadness. When Charlie pressed my hand into his, he said, "Save my baby."

Edward's expression was hard as he nodded. When he looked at me, I wanted to cry and have a panic attack there and then. I wanted to cling to him and beg and bite and… I guess the whole newborn emotion thing was taking over me again. But instead, he plastered a smile on his face.

"I love you," I whispered, my sheer terror evident in my voice.

"You are my life now," he said simply, but his voice was laden with emotions I did not understand. He led me up to the altar, never letting go of my hand.

The altar. The place of sacrifice. The place where you give up the best of the best in you. the place where you give up the best of what you have. The place where lives where surrendered. The place where the smoke that arose from the scene told people far and wide how far you'd been willing to go. As far as to sacrifice a life.

Suddenly I wanted to run away. I did not want Edward to die. For me or otherwise. But his hand held me firm, and the preacher launched into his speech. "Do you, Isabella Marie Swan, take this man, Edward Anthony Cullen, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

I nodded, hardly able to speak. Death would separate us in the near future, but I didn't want to let go until then. "I do."

"Do you, Edward Anthony Cullen, take this woman, Isabella Marie Swan, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for richer or poor, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

Edward's eyes saddened. He carefully reached out and touched my cheek, letting his hand slide to where my pulse would have jumped erratically from the intensity of the moment. "Until death do us part," he repeated, and it suddenly struck us again the painful demise that awaited us. "I do," he said fiercely, and his eyes changed from liquid topaz to hard, determined amber. "I do with all my heart. I'll die before I let you go."


	16. Lesson One: Go Crazy

I tried hard, I really did. Edward did too. But we could not get happy. Our dance as husband and wife we spent clinging to each other, secretly saying our goodbyes. We clung a lot that night. And we constantly told each other how much we loved each other. The despair that took over us began to affect the party, so Alice forced us to cut the cake and leave an hour ahead of schedule.

We had been sitting in our room since then. Our room in a cabin Esme recently rebuilt just for us. We've been sitting and staring at each other, unable to look away for fear that the other would disappear.

Suddenly, in a display of anger I'd ever thought him capable of, Edward stood and punched the wall, cursing.

"Edward?"

"There has to be another way," he fumed. He took the lamp and threw it across the room, when it shattered with a rather satisfying crash.

I jumped to me feet, my body reacting defensively to the scare. "Edward, please calm down."

"NOT CALMING DOWN! I'M GOING TO LOSE YOU!"

"And what, you think that someone telling you the love of your life will burn to death in a few weeks is any better?"

He sunk back down on the bed, actually sobbing. "I'm sorry… I just… you didn't see yourself the day. You were so scared! They're coming for you! God only knows what they'll do to you! and I won't be able to do a damn thing…"

Something occurred to me just then. "No, but maybe I can. Remember when you fought with Jacob?"

He looked up at me and nodded miserably.

"Remember how I got you to stop fighting?"

He nodded miserably again, then comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh! But… do you remember how you did that?"

"No… the only time I've done that I've been under extenuating circumstances and can't really remember how I did it."

"Well that's helpful," he muttered to himself.

"Better than anything you've come up with," I retorted.

He patted the bed next to me. "I'm sorry. This was supposed to be the best day of your life. It's turned into an utter disaster." He looked at me longingly as I sat next to him. He pulled me close to him, crushing me in his embrace. "I'm afraid," he admitted. "I don't want to leave you. I don't want to lose you. I don't… want to… die."

If I could tear up, tears would be pouring down my face. "Me neither," I whispered, and it was all it took for Edward to break down in my arms.

"I was alone for so long… the day I saved you was the day I saved myself. I saved you from death, but you saved me from a lifetime of misery. Now, they're coming to condemn you to the loneliness I felt, and me to the death you feared. It's not fair! What did we do to deserve this?!"

"Nothing Edward. We didn't do anything to deserve this. Just like I didn't deserve what they did to me to begin with." I stood and began to pace. "I have to remember--"

"No! if you… if you fight, they'll kill you too! Please, Bella…"

"Edward. This is my fight. I have to finish it. It's me they want, and I can't let them kill you or anyone else over it."

"But Bella--"

"Edward. Please," I begged, "I love you. think of what it would do to Alice if she lost of the pain it will cause Esme and Carlisle when they burn him… and you… God, I won't be able to watch you die, Edward." The thought of it nearly drove me to my knees. "Think of Emmett and Rose… think of the friendship Carlisle had with them. All of that will be gone, Edward. You were just saying that there has to be another way. _I_ am that other way."

"But if you get hurt…"

"I won't. You and Emmett and everyone else won't let them hurt me, just like I won't let them hurt you. we'll work together."

"What about…"

"We'll figure it all out, Edward. I promise. We'll be together." I won't let it be any other way, I added to myself.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Edward looked up at Alice in fear. "What? Alice! Tell me, please, for god's sake, before I burst."

I turned to her as well, frightened. "Alice?"

"Have you spoken to Jacob since the wedding?"

I shook my head. "I thought about telling him, but I don't want to drag him into this mess."

"You all know that when Jacob's around I can't see the future, right?"

We nodded again. "Out with it, Alice!"

"The future just disappeared."

I moaned. "Oh no! what if Jake gets hurt…"

Edward looked upset too. "How do we know…?"

"We don't," she said simply. "Call him."

"No!"

"Look, if the whole company is coming, and Jacob's pack engages them alone, what do you think will happen?"

"They'll get rid of them for us," said Rosalie, only half-sarcastic.

Edward rolled his eyes and came to me. "Bella," he said, his voice tender and cautious. "Bella, love. If we have a chance to win this, we're going to have to fight them together."

"No," I protested immediately, my voice threatening to betray the tears I could no longer cry.

"Bella, they cannot fight them alone, and neither can we."

"No. I want Jacob to stay out of this."

"Bella, love. He won't stay out of it. It's in his nature not to."

I sighed shakily, starting to cry. "But… if he… and you… Jasper… no, I can't lose all of you! I won't!"

"Bella, we don't have a choice," he whispered, gathering me into his arms. "Would I tell you to do something that can hurt you?"

"No," I answered in a tiny voice.

"Would Jacob being killed hurt you?"

I nodded.

"Would I tell you to do something that would get Jacob killed?"

I shook my head. "I'm scared." I felt like a child, and I was sure I sounded like one too.

"Don't be afraid, Bella. Remember what we were discussing before? You will protect Jacob like you will with the rest of us."

I looked up at him. "You're going to teach me how to use my shield now?"

He nodded.

"And you and Jake will be okay?"

He nodded again. "I promise," he whispered to me. Holding me close, he turned to Alice. "Get Jacob on the phone. Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle… you're going to have to meet and strategize with Jacob's pack. The girls and I will help Bella remember how to use her shield on others."

They sprung into action, and Edward ran his hands through his hair and stepped back. "Okay, Super Bella. Lesson One."

* * *

**A/N: i'm not happy with this chapter. if you agree, please say so. if you beg to differ, please, PLEASE say so. in other words, review, _review, _REVIEW!!!**

**still taking votes on a story title. or suggestions. or anything. somebody, please, help me name my story!! i'm begging.**

**hope you enjoyed.**

**cheers!  
~temporary insanity**


	17. Lesson Two: Death is Serious

Rosalie was hissing angrily at Edward when I came down the stairs. Wondering what was wrong, I found her crouched, ready to pounce on Edward who was baring his teeth at her, angry snarls ripping from his throat. Instinctively, I jumped in between them, lunging at Rosalie.

_Don't you touch him, bitch, _I snarled in my head as she ducked out of my way in surprise.

"Bella, love. Bella." Edward's voice isn't afraid or angry, it's soothing.

I turned to him, confused. "What?"

"I can hear you. your shield is up, love. She won't hurt me, okay? Relax."

I let him pull me into his arms and Rosalie sat up from where she dove out of my way in order to keep her head. "Holy cow. Maybe experimenting with you is a bad idea."

He chuckled. "She's still young."

"Well that might be a problem when the Volturi are attacking, Edward."

He sighed. "I'm not entirely sure. You were attacking, so she attacked. The Volturi don't just 'attack'. you know that."

"Perhaps they are counting on her attacking. You said that the first day you met her, she was holding the door shut."

"True."

"They know of her powers, then."

"Yes, they do. But her shield is mental and physical. If she just stays put and pushes her shiel out, _none _of their powers can touch us."

"In theory."

"Well, let's talk about you standing still, then, Super Bella."

"Standing still while that bastard attempts to take your head from your shoulders? I think not."

"Bella, didn't you hear anything we just said? If you attack, they will have the advantage they need to get us."

"When they attack is when I attack and that's the only time that's stupid shield actually works."

Just then someone grabbed him from behind.

I whipped around to see Jasper with his Teeth at Edward's neck.

I didn't know what to do, so I stood there. I didn't want Edward to be hurt. _But Jasper is family. He wouldn't hurt Edward._ I tried to focus, feeling pressure on me in waves. Not knowing where it was coming from, I looked around. I could actually see them. They were from Jasper. I tried pushing my shield out like I did when we were pranking each other. Jasper stumbled enough for Edward to struggle out of his grasp, starting to fall in the process. I manipulated it under him, and he landed comfortably on air.

I noticed something else. I could actually see my shield. But for the life of me, I couldn't get it to envelop him. Letting Edward down, I thought of a plan. If I could use my telekinesis to manipulate my shield, telling it what to do would make it do so. I tried. Suddenly, Edward was lit in a funny way, and the shield, much to my pleasure, now included him.

I tried to add Jasper, but my shield snapped back with such force that I flew off my feet.

"Bella?!"

"I'm okay. I'm just gonna have to work on the multiple person thing."

Edward helped me uncrumple myself and stand to my feet. "Are you hurt?"

"No. but I discovered that my shield, hard though it is, operates like a rubber band. It snaps back when I stretch it too far."

"What else do you know?"

"I understand how it works now. I have to combine my powers."

"Huh?"

"Use telekinesis to order it around."

"So how come you didn't realize it was working?"

"I don't know."

"Could it be that you can issue orders with your unconscious mind?"

"Um, vampires don't have much of an unconscious mind."

"Precisely. Since we can process multiple things at once, maybe a part of you ordered your shield to protect me."

"Maybe. But I was mostly focused on the fight."

"Fight to protect Edward."

"True…"

"Look, this is confusing and I'm tired and you all have to warn me before doing this, okay? One of you is going to get hurt."

"Bella, if we warn you then there will be no risk of harm, you won't be as compelled to act."

"Which will give me time to strategize, since my husband won't actually be pending incineration."

He sighed. "Just rest, Super Bella, okay?"

"Actually, I'm going hunting. I'm hungry." And I took off, suddenly very angry. Where was all this coming from?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXX **

"Alice? What is the matter with you?"

"Nothing. Go away, I'm trying to concentrate."

"On what?"

"Nothing. I have that feeling I get, when I'm about to get a vision, but it's not coming. I feel like someone is blocking it."

"Blocking it?!"

"Shut up and go away!"

"Okay, okay." Jasper practically ran to Edward and Bella's house.

"Guys! Guys, something's up. Edward, get your ass out here, we have a problem."

"Calm down! What's going?"

"Alice said she feels like someone is blocking her _sight._"

"What? What…"

"If they can block hers, they can block the rest of ours. Do you think it's the Volturi?"

"Who else would it be?"

"I don't know. If they're close enough to block us… they must know that Charlie knows. Watch him, Jasper. I'll take care of Alice."

"Let me go with you?"

"Of course, love. Come on." We made our way through the forest and back to the Cullen house in record time to find Alice sprawled on her bed. "Alice?"

"Edward… go away. I want to concentrate."

"What's going on?"

"I'm trying to get around… whatever the hell is going on… and you're breaking my concentration."

Feeling a bit odd, I sat down on Alice's bed and pulled Edward next to me. I, with much effort, wrapped my shield around the both of them.

Alice settled easily into her trance, and Edward gasped. "Holy crap! I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, I'm coming."

"Wait, Edward, wait. What the hell is going on?"

"She was calling me. I didn't even--"

"Calling you?"

"Yeah. In my head."

"In your… head… do you think this thing is blocking you too? What about Jasper…"

"This is all so confusing."

"Let's take a walk. Now that they've been blocked, perhaps they will go away."

"Okay. Lead the way."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"_Bellissima,_ how are you holding up with all of this? You've taken to using your shield well, but I worry about you."

"You always worry about me."

"I know, but…"

"I'm okay, I guess. We still have a couple weeks, according to Alice. I think I'll be fine."

He plopped himself down on the grass in our meadow. "I'm so tired."

"Tired?"

"Tired of this. Of worrying, being afraid… of seeing you frightened about what will happen to us. Understand something, Bella, life without you is not life. I know that you feel the same way. Some way or another, we will be together. If that way is in death, so be it. I refuse to be without you, and I refuse to leave you here alone."

I gulped. "Are you saying that if you make it out of this and I don't, you'll kill yourself?"

He closed his eyes, his expression becoming peaceful.

"Edward, you can't! You can't do that. I won't let you! No, Edward…"

"Hey, don't cry. Don't be upset…"

"Promise me you won't die."

"Bella, I can't--"

"Edward, don't you get it?! Even the thought of you dying—I can't take it! You have to promise me. Please, Edward, you can't kill yourself. Not even if I die."

"Bella… my love, I promise you to be with you forever. For now, that is enough."

I sniffed, though no tears came. I clung to him, and he wrapped his arms around me comfortingly. "Shh. Don't worry. You're safe. Jasper is watching Charlie. There's another meeting with Jacob's pack tonight. We will talk about your shield. I'd like you to try it out on us while we fight."

"Ok… but I… okay. I can't use it all that well, yet…"

"We'll think of something. Especially since the wolves' minds are linked, maybe we can use that to our advantage."

"Yeah. I was hoping--"

He sat up suddenly and held up his hand, motioning me to be quiet.

A russet brown wolf, huge and muscular, emerged from the woods, slightly behind a larger black one. I recognized Sam Uley and Jacob. In fact, I recognized them all except this sandy brown one. That one came over and licked Edward's hand. Then he scrunched up his face. I remembered that we smell just as… _unpleasant_… to them as they do to us.

Edward grinned and petted his head. "Thanks, Seth. What's going on? Why are you all here?" He tilted his head, listening to them, then he suddenly pulled me into his lap. "You were hunting… a vampire? Who? Did you catch him?" More silence. "Oh. I'm sorry, we didn't mean to worry you, Jacob. Bella is just fine. We were just talking about… you know. It's a touchy subject." He pulled me closer. "There is? You would do that?" he sighed. "Thank you, Jacob. I know my family has been a bit wary of you all since all of this started." He chuckled. "It was very well deserved. But it's past now, and we have bigger problems to take care of. Thank you" he finally lifted my chin to look at him. "My love, Jacob and Sam have discovered a couple vampires in the area. They've hunted one, but they would like to escort us home until they find the other." He turned to them. "Perhaps it would be best if you split up. I understand. Well, send Seth, Collin, and Brady. I see, that's a problem."

"Send Seth, Quil, and Brady. Jake and Paul and Collin and Leah can be on one team, and Sam and Embry and Jared on another. That way you can cover more ground and protect us."

"Good plan. Jake says he likes the way you think. Sam, Paul, and Seth agree that you're an evil genius. As does Emmett. Wait, Emmett?" He shifted around to stare at his brother. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Alice sent me to find you. She's really upset."

"You shouldn't have gone out by yourself, Em. You should have brought Jazz."

"Jazz is with Charlie."

I gasped. "Charlie! What if they go hunting…?"

"Sam, Embry, and Jared are on it. Emmett, go with them and tell Jasper what's going on. Don't worry, love. Charlie will be safe. Let's go home, okay?"

"Okay. Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Love you."

He smiled and gave me a kiss. "Love you too, Super Bella. Let's go."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"What's up? What is it, Alice, what's wrong."

"It's bad, Edward. There's been a change. Someone in the dark… in a dungeon… Aro comes in. I saw her hair; her clothes… are the same. Can't see her face, but I know it's… I'm sorry, Edward. So sorry."

Edward looked like he'd been slapped in the face and kicked in the nuts at the same time. He crumpled onto the floor. "No… No, Alice. No. Alice, tell me it's wrong. There has to be a way…"

She shook her miserably.

Edward shook his head. "No. no, Alice, you're wrong."

"How many times have I been wrong?!"

He sobbed. "Please, Alice. Tell me you're wrong."

"You want me to lie?"

"Alice…" he started to sob.

A sick feeling grew in my stomach. Only one thing could get Edward that upset. My instinct was to comfort him, but how could I? I was going to die, and there wasn't anything that could be done about it.


	18. Lesson Three: Expect the Unexpected

"Bella? Bella!"

"What? What? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Edward was freaking out; he said he couldn't find you anywhere. He even went to your spot. How did you hide your scent?"

"I didn't. Tell him where I am and that I didn't mean to scare him."

"You shouldn't be here by yourself, Bells."

"Emmett—"

"You're my sister, Bells, and some freaky murdering monsters want you dead."

"It's okay… Jake and Seth were worried about that too. I told them to stay within hollering distance. I just needed some time alone."

"Oh. As long as they're close. I'll tell Edward you're with them."

"You're the coolest brother ever, Em."

He snickered. "Don't tell that to Jazz. Hey, um… I know everyone thinks I'm the dumb one, but I know I didn't smell you anywhere. And if Edward the genius couldn't either, something's up."

"Em, I'm okay. I'm fine alright? Please tell I'm I'm fine."

"Bella? Oh, thank God. I thought something had happened…"

I internally groaned. "Edward, honey. I'm fine. I really just needed some time alone."

"I know, Super Bella, but you could have told us."

"I'm sorry! Look, can you please just go away?"

He sighed and bent to kiss my lips. "Love you, Super Bella. I'll see you tonight, okay?" he whispered, half pleadingly and half seductively.

I nodded, forcing a smile at him. "I love you too."

Emmett waved. "Later, Bells!"

"Later, Em."

And they were gone. I turned my mind back to my dark thoughts. It had been a year and a couple months since the attack that so drastically changed my life and ended my mother's. I missed my mother terribly, and I was having a hard time reaching Charlie. He said that he couldn't bear that it could be the last time we talked, so he decided not to talk at all. It had been months since we've even spoken on the phone, much less seen eachother.

I was hurt that he could cut me out of his life after all of the risk, sacrifice, and effort it took to go with Edward to my home that day. Now he acted as if my new species and I did not exist. The thought caused my eyes to sting and my throat to tighten. I knew I could not technically cry, but that was exactly what I felt like doing.

Not to mention, I'd never gotten an official honeymoon with Edward. We spent all our time preparing for a fight—

There was a noise. I swear I heard it. Someone was here. "Jake?" I whispered.

Silence.

I tried to bring up my shield, but it wasn't working. I was extremely confused. My confusion turned to terror when three vampires emerged from the trees with vicious evil smirks on their faces.

"Bella?!" it was the most blessed thing I've ever heard, Edward's frantic voice as he ran through the trees. "Bella!"

Suddenly I felt lethargic. Sleepy, even. Afraid, I realized that the smaller vampire was causing me to be numb. As unconsciousness overtook me, the big one grabbed me. Not being able to move from the lethargy that they were causing me, I could only listen as my love cried out for me.

"Bella! Bella, where are you? Bella, no! Bella? Bella…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When I could move and see again, I was in a dark cell. A dungeon, I presumed, cautiously and fearfully glancing at the torches on the walls and the big vampire from before staring at me from outside the cell.

"You're awake," he said evilly.

I gulped. "W-where am I?"

"Oh Aro," he called. "Our guest has come to."

Aro? I stared in horror. I should have known that they would bring me back here. I tried to run, but the big man grabbed me and threw my small frame forcefully back into the cell just as Aro appeared. I crashed gracelessly onto the wall before landing on my feet.

"Hello. You are Bella, correct?"

I just stared at him.

"Bella, I have a proposition for you."

"You'll leave me alone and burn in hell?" I guessed.

"Bella, Bella," he said disapprovingly, "Ladies of the Volturi don't speak with such acidity and foul language."

"I'm not a Volturi," I said poisonously. "I'm a Cullen."

"The Cullens," he mused. "Carlisle was my friend. I thought I could trust him."

"You always could trust him. You're only proving that he can't trust you."

"Why are you so attached to them, hm?"

"Because they aren't evil, vile, scum of the earth like you!"

"Perhaps if I eliminate them that won't be an issue for you."

"NO!"

"Please have Jane see to it that they are destroyed."

"NO!" I jumped up and grabbed his arm.

He stared at me. "Oh my. I didn't know. You really are a Cullen after all, aren't you. Perhaps then all this can be avoided if you can persuade your mate to join me as well."

"He is too good for you."

"I suppose you think you are too."

"You don't see how evil you are, do you?" I whispered. "You don't see how you carelessly dispose of friendships and loved ones, harm those around you. You don't even care, do you?"

"I am the ruler of our kind. I don't have to care."

"Don't you think that everyone would respect and follow you more faithfully if you weren't trying to make an example of the rest of us?"

"I've heard enough of this."

"All of our kind has heard and seen how the Cullens really are. If you do this, you will lose the loyalty of everyone."

"No. I will simply have eliminated my competition."

"I'm not aware that we were in a competition."

"I am always in a competition, love. Vittorio, please have Jane come here."

"Yes, Master." The bulky man that took her left the dark room. Moments later, he came back with a tiny blonde girl and a small boy she recognized as one of the kidnappers.

"Jane, Alec, welcome. Young Bella needs a lesson or two on loyalty and she has problems with us being in charge. Would you please help her learn?"

"Yes, master," responded Alec evilly. Suddenly, I was blinded again, unable to move. Then pain tore through my body. _Make it stop, make it stop,_ I chanted over and over in my head. Where was Edward? Why hadn't he found me?

**B|E**

The grief overtook everything. I never left home, not even to eat. I never went in our bedroom. I never went to the main house. I never spoke t my family. The darkness that consumed me made me wish I were dead. Alice had seen what they would do to her. They would burn her in the white room. Piece by piece. they would torture her with thought of me as she died.

A broken sob escaped my throat. I know now that the scent hider and the talent blocker belonged to the Volturi. We could never get around them to save Bella. I couldn't save her. I promised her I would protect her from _them_ but I couldn't. she was gone now. There was nothing left for me to do.

Except get revenge. I could go to Italy and avenge her death. Would my family help me? I shook my head. I could never ask them to go on a suicide mission like that.

My cell phone rang. "Edward! I had the most amazing vision. We were taking over Volterra."

"It actually worked?"

"Yes. There was fire everywhere and we were celebrating our victory in the forests nearby. But I can't see the actual fight."

"Why not?"

"Guess."

I gasped. The wolves! "Are you sure they would fight with us?"

"Yes. And because they can pass as humans, they can get us right in."

"Get us in?"

"They can get into the white room with the hunt. I can see the burning bodies. They will pose as humans and they will change."

"But there are—"

"There are sixteen wolves. I can only see ten in the white room."

I sit back down, my min reeling. "How do you see around them?"

"I'm getting a headache," she admitted, "But this will work."

"Explosives." It struck me that explosives can cause raging fires and vampires don't usually survive those.

"Yes," she hissed. "I will get right on it. Start packing and call Jacob." She hung up.

I started to pack my essential things. I was declaring war on the monster that took my wife.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Emmett was so psyched about fighting the Volturi that he was bouncing in his seat, which was consequently causing turbulence for the plane.

Carlisle sat, thoughtfully quiet, in the seat next to mine. "Edward," he whispered. "I know you're grieving."

"He was your friend, Carlisle," I replied angrily. "He turned on you. He turned on us. For nothing. He murdered my wife. He will find a way to kill us too if we don't put an end to this now."

"Edward, just remember who you are."

"Bella is who I am now," I said, my voice empty. "She's gone."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, son," he whispered. "I'm so sorry. I have loved her as a daughter, and so has Esme. Everyone here has loved Bella as a dear sister and friend. We miss her too, Edward. Fighting will not solve this."

"It will," he said. "Alice saw that it will. Besides, they say revenge is the best revenge. I want to look into their eyes while they burn. I want them to suffer the way my Bella did. I want them to see how cruel they are in their final moments."

"Edward…"

"I want them to see all the damage they have done."

Carlisle sighed. "I do to."

"I know you are loyal to your friend, dad," I said softly. "But I cannot be loyal to my enemy."

"We're here," cut in Alice. "You'll never guess who is waiting for us."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Vladmir and Stephan were waiting for us in baggage claim. "We are so glad to see those vermin go down," they kept saying. "What can we do to help?"

_You can shut up,_ I thought dryly.

"So what made you stop being friends with those vermin?"

"They murdered a beloved family member," said Rosalie stoically.

"Who?" asked Stephan.

"Yes, who? I see all of you here."

I held out my left hand to them. They both gasped. "You were married! When ? they took her? They will pay. We all have been waiting to see you happy and they just took her away. They should know better than to destroy a man's mate." They were so furious that Jasper actually winced. I sat back and let them be mad for me.

I felt toward the Volturi the way that guy Chuck did in the movie Anger Management: "I went from happy to angry. Skipped sad. Now I want to kick his ass." And I would. I would do just that.

**A/N: the rest of the story will actually be told in Edward's POV. I had to switch in the middle of the chapter just so I could get out what he was feeling in that moment. Hope you all liked it.**

**Somebody was wondering when the poll to name the story would close. Since not enough people have voted just yet, I'll keep it open until I reach the end of the story, or get close enough to it. Winner still get teasers for my other twilight story, **_**piano man**_**. Check it out! And don't forget, reviews are make my insanity a little less temporary. So do it! Review! Quick, find the green button, you can do it!! Lol. Have a great day guys, and as always,**

**Cheers!**

**~temporary insanity**


	19. Bombs Away

**A/N: okay, about the poll. i'm hoping to finish this story by the end of next week. if you'd like some kind of sequel or have ideas for a sequel, please, _please,_ PLEASE holler and if you haven't voted or sent an idea for the title, please do. the poll will close when i post my disclaimers and announcements at the end of the story, at which time i will announce the winner.**

**thanks for your reviews and support, and as always,**

**cheers!  
~temporary insanity**

* * *

It was like something out of a spy movie. The wolves had managed to get inside the white room. I was waiting for them to give the signal with their minds. As soon as they had destroyed the vampires inside the white room-- which were Aro and the personal guard, much to our luck-- we would detonate the explosives that were strategically positioned in the towers and the different tunnels that ran all the way through the Volturi castle. Fortunately for us, Jasper secretly knew a thing or two about architecture and demolition, so the explosions should cause the building to collapse and burn... with those monsters inside. The boys would get out through an escape route we planned for them. We had taken hostage the one that hides scents, and used him to position our bombs. Then we killed him.

Suddenly Alice's thoughts burned into my mind._ "I see you detonating in thirty seconds. Get ready."_

I nodded. Sure enough, the boys signaled. They were in the tunnel, and the rescued humans were with them. "Positions," I hissed, knowing my family could hear. I pushed the button. In all of my hundred years, I've never taken so much delight in pushing a miserable button, nor have I been so satisfied at the sight of fire.

A vision passed before my eyes. Someone in a dungeon, crying out for help as the fire surrounded her. Then her face burned into my mind: _Bella_.

At the same time, someone's thoughts called out in my mind. "_Where is Edward? Why won't he come get me? It burns..."_ the thought was filled with hopelessness and sadness. _"Did they kill him? I don't want to live if he is gone._"

It was impossible. We saw her burn. We had gotten here in time to see her go up in flames in the white room. I had to do something. I ran down, following her voice in my mind. Part of me wondered how I could hear her, since she should have her shield up. I felt the heat coming from inside the building and gulped. I wouldn't leave with out my Bella. If she burned then so would I.

Kicking my way through the wall and bending the iron bars out of the way, I looked below me and saw Bella laying there as everyone scrambled to get away from the fire.

"Edward," someone hissed behind me.

"Jacob," I gasped, grateful for his presence. I would not be able to fight Jane and Caius by myself. It seemed that Bella had been incapacitated somehow, and she wouldn't be able to fight.

"I'll get the little one."

"Good. I want Caius."

"Let's go." we dropped through the grill I'd bent out of the way, and immediately, Jacob shifted and pounced on the girl from behind. She was down in under a minute. I had landed on Caius's back. "Hello, Caius."

"Get off me, mongrel. You're too late. She has agreed to work for us."

"Look at her!" I fumed. "If she can work at all after this, it will never be for you.

The Jacob wolf had thrown all of Jane's pieces toward where the fire getting closer, and some of it had started to catch. He turned to us, and Caius was completely surrounded.

"I hope that this is only a minor taste of what hell will be like for you."

He looked frantically around.

"So without your personal guard, you're a coward, eh? To bad the rest of my wolf friends have destroyed them. The place is on fire as we speak."

"This will destroy our secret," Caius begged. "If you let me go, I can fix this."

"You're wrong," I said smugly, my teeth still at his neck as Jacob circled closer. "My family has already taken to the shadows of the forest. No one will see them. We will escape, and the blame will be placed on terrorists. We will not be suspected, because we will mourn our friends' deaths. And once the castle is rebuilt, the people will want us to be the new leaders of our kind."

"Never," he snarled. He actually yelped as Jacob took a snap at his foot and hurled it toward the oncoming fire.

"You're going to die today," I said in his ear, "and as you do, look into the eyes of me and my wife and remember the trust that Carlisle put in you when he was young. Remember all of that, and as you die, I hope you regret ever being born." and with a swift bite, his head rolled away. We quickly dismembered him, not wasting our time piling the pieces, because we didn't have much time.

"Jacob, you have to get out first."

"Look, I don't spontaneously combust or whatever. I'll help you guys up and then I'll go."

"Jacob, Bella couldn't live with herself if--"

"Yeah and she couldn't live with herself if you burned here and now. Get out, I'll find a way up myself."

I nodded gratefully to him and gathered my Bella in my arms before jumping up through the opening we created. Jacob jumped too, barely catching one of the mangled bars. I dragged him up and then we ran as the fire engulfed the place of Bella's imprisonment.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Dad!" I was never so glad to see my father in all my life. "Dad, please, you have to help Bella."

"What's wrong with her?" he asked, his doctor alter-ego kicking in.

"She's not responsive, I don't know."

"Aren't vampires supposed to never be unconscious?"

Carlisle frowned as Esme, Alice, and Rosalie got to work making a pile of leaves and dry grass for her to rest comfortably upon.

I laid her down, and Carlisle checked her over. "I don't see anything wrong. Can you hear her?"

"No..."

"Can you see what she's thinking?"

"I..." I smiled at her softly, caressing her cheek. "She thinks she's in heaven. She's confused because heaven is not supposed to hurt."

Carlisle spoke up loudly. "Bella, honey, can you hear me? Where do you hurt?"

"She hears you, she's-- I lost her. Bella? Love?"

He eyes shot open. "Oh, God. Not you too, not you, Edward, please--"

"Shh, Bella," I soothed. I tried to touch her again, but her shield seemed to function again.

"Hold me," she whimpered, and I obliged, gathering her securely into my arms.

"Where do you hurt, Bella?"

"I don't know... that little girl-- she would look at me and it would hurt. We met her on our way home for the first time, remember?"

I nodded. I hoped Jane had died a slow, painful death.

"I tried to block it, but there was a man named Vittorio and he could turn off my shield. I hurt still, Edward."

"I'm sorry, Super Bella," I whispered. "They can't hurt you anymore."

"What happened?" she looked up at me, confusion lighting her dark eyes. "All I know is that I hurt, and then it was hot, and then everyone was in pieces and you were carrying me away."I winced at how tiny and frail her voice sounded.

"I will explain on the way, _Bellisima_. Carlisle, she's to weak. She can't travel like this."

"I will hunt something for her. Jazz can come too." Emmett, who had enjoyed the explosions thoroughly, jumped to his feet and dragged Jasper into the woods.

I sighed. It would be enough for now, but she would still be weak.

"When we get back, I'll have to snag some blood for her from the blood bank."

I nodded. "That will be best. Can't you get some here?"

"We'd have to steal it," Alice answered. "I'm on it." and she was gone too.

I stared between Carlisle and Esme in silence.

"Edward?" Bella whispered, her eyes closed. "I'm so hungry."

"I know."

"They wouldn't let me eat. Anything at all. Not even the human that came to deliver messages."

"Emmett, Jasper, and Alice have gone to get you food, Super Bella. You rest."

"Silly Edward," she whispered. "Vampires don't have to rest."

I smiled. "Please. For me."

"Okay," she said, her voice still a hoarse whisper. "Don't let go of me."

"Never," I said into her hair.

To anyone else, she would have looked sound asleep.


	20. What To Do?

Tanya was watching me rock her. She was still very weak, an could hardly move around on her own. Carlisle had her drinking thirty-two ounce glasses of human blood six times a day. Her eyes were the color of dull garnet, instead of brilliant ruby. I still worried about her a lot.

_I still don't know what he sees in her. Is it because she has powers and I don't? I don't understand. I wanted him so bad. She can't really be better than me, can she?_

I sighed. "Tanya, honestly... thank you and your family for support. But she is my whole world. I don't know why I fell in love with her; I do know why I didn't fall in love with you."

_Why?_

"Because you're shallow and conniving and you will do whatever it takes to get what you want, and most of the time that is sleeping with men."

_I... thought men liked that._

I sighed. "If all this time you wanted me, why did you sleep with them?"

"I don't know... I thought maybe if I got you jealous... maybe if you saw that all the other men want me, you would too."

"Tanya... people have free will. People can do as they choose. I chose not to be with you. Because I didn't want you. That was what I wanted, what my choice was. You should know better than to try to persuade me otherwise."

She laughed weakly. "You are stubborn as hell."

"I'll say," muttered my Bella as her eyelids fluttered. "He hasn't let go of me in days. He needs to hunt."

"Hi Bella. You want more--"

"Bloody Bob sounds good right about now."

I chuckled at her.

"Urm... Bella... I'd like to apologize... I was... upset. And jealous. And... please forgive me."

With much effort, she turned her head to see Tanya. "You tried to take him away. He's all I have left."

"Me too," she whispered. "My family... they were upset with my behavior. I um... haven't spoken to them since then. Even now they ignore me."

Bella let her shield down, and I heard her think, _well she should have thought about that before she tried to turn my man into a whore like her._

"Cut her some slack, love. It's been too long since a man has shown her how to love properly."

_That's something you should know already. It's common sense. For example, if she wanted me to like her, she shouldn't have hit on you. If she wanted you to love her, she shouldn't have gone hotel-hopping._

"Bella, Angel..."

"You'll forgive me if someone just tried to kill me and am not in the mood to deal with people who piss me off."

"Bella, I think it's time for you to eat."

"I think so too."

I sighed. She'd been really grumpy lately. I granted her that she was in pain, but really, snapping at Carlisle and Esme, nearly biting my finger off in a scare, and telling Alice she was never going shopping again was really taking it's toll on the family; we were all anxious for normal Bella to come back. Oh, and don't forget that she screamed at Jasper for trying to calm her down when all these things happened.

And it's only been nine days. Carlisle said that being under Jane's torturous gaze was maybe more damaging than they thought, and we could not go back to Volterra until she was fully well.

Carlisle brought out her cup of blood, and she greedily drank it. "More?" she pouted a little.

Carlisle laughed. "In a little bit, honey."

"Edward," she whined, pouting at me.

I sighed. When she pouted like that she all but reached into my chest and tore my stone heart out. "In a little bit, Super Bella."

"But..."

"Please, please don't pout, Bella. Just rest. Don't worry, the time will fly and it will be time for more."

She pouted more anyway.

I sighed, resolving to ignore her.

_Edward, there are vampires here. They don't seem very friendly._ Alice cocked her head toward the window. She showed me her vision-- vampires coming to fight us.

I tensed, pulling Bella closer to my chest and concentrating to hear their thoughts.

_I can't believe they killed them._

_They must pay for what they did._

_The Volturi were good. They didn't deserve what Carlisle did to them..._

_I wonder if anyone knows how many there are?_

… _I never thought that Carlisle of all people could do this._

_How on earth did they pull it off?_

_What if there are more of them than there are of us?_

"Jasper, how many of them are there?"

"Four or five. They're still far. What are they thinking?"

"Um... two of them want to fight. One isn't very convinced they can pull this off... he was wondering how many there are of us. The other was just musing to himself."

"Do they have any abilities?"

Alice concentrated hard. "Um... no."

"Do they know of ours?" asked Carlisle.

"I doesn't seem like it. I kind of think this is a spur of the moment thing... they just heard what happened and wanted to confront us. I don't think they've thought this through very well. The two are still ranting about how we must pay."

Alice perked up. "Jazz, if you can keep them calm long enough for us to explain, then they will leave in peace. I can tell."

"I don't know if I do that from this distance. They're still a ways away."

"If Edward can hear them , you can do it. go."

He concentrated with all his might, and I did too. Their thoughts changed.

_Well maybe if they are more powerful we shouldn't fight them after all._

_They are powerful, and I know Carlisle is fair. Perhaps we should give him a chance. Maybe they can rule in the place of the Volturi._

_I'm starting to wonder about this. If they annihilated the _Volturi_ of all people, we must be cake to them._

_Perhaps we should hear them out first. No one revolts against an authority without a cause._

"It's working," I murmured. "One of them actually thought about us taking over."

"We should," murmured Bella. "I know that you and Carlisle would make fair rulers."

Rosalie shook her head, and so did Carlisle and Alice.

"No," said Carlisle. "Not one of us is more powerful than the other. All of us have our own talents and we would need them all to rule fairly. We would all have equal parts."

Alice and Rose nodded in agreement.

Emmett sighed. "Too bad. I really wanted a fight."

"Isn't blowing stuff up enough for you? You know, having gone to high school God only knows how many times, you would think that you didn't miss the part of chemistry class where you get to blow stuff up."

"Shut up, Edward!" Emmett lunged at me, preparing to play wrestle, but Jasper looked alarmed. In that same moment, I felt Bella shift, preparing to defend me. Her shield enveloped me and she growled at Emmett. "Whoa, sis. Chill down, I was just fooling around."

She struggled into a sitting position and another snarl ripped from her throat.

Then I realized that they were approaching the front door, and they were looking for me.

Carlisle opened the door. "Hello."

"Hello. My name is Dorian. This is Acacia and Athena, and their mates, Spiro and Nikkos." they all looked pretty much the same: dark hair, pale skin, and bright red eyes...

Wait. Nikkos?

"It' a pleasure. Hello again, Athena." Carlisle let them in and gestured to us in turn. "This is my son Edward and his wife, Bella. Rosalie and her husband, Emmett. Jasper and his wife, Alice. My wife, Esme. Our friend, Tanya."

Nikkos! Wow, I hadn't seen him since my..._rebellious _stage...

"Well if it isn't Edward Cullen!"

"Nick. It's been a while."

"I know! It's been like eighty years!"

_you know this guy?_

_Who is he? _

_Where do you know him from?_

_What the hell is going on?!_

_I don't care who he is, I'll kick his ass if he touches you. _Of course, that was Bella.

"Guys, calm down. Bella, love... they won't hurt anyone, I promise. Dad, Esme, Rose... when I left home, it was Nikkos who took me in. I hunted with him for ten years. We got to be well acquainted."

"Oh."

"What...?" Nikkos looked confused.

"Nick. Seriously?"

"Oh, you can read minds. I'd almost forgotten."

"I thought the Volturi went after your coven."

"They did. So I joined my big fat Greek wedding here."

I laughed. "It's good to see you, Nikkos."

"You too. So, I know how you function, Edward. You wouldn't hunt people unless they were bad. So what happened with you and the Volturi? I mean, I wasn't mad when they killed the coven. I told them to get rid of that stupid kid before they gt us all killed, but they didn't listen. That was fair. Now I want to know what got you all to go give them the pink slip."

I looked down at my Bella. "They, um... they fed on her and her family while they were on a vacation to Italy. Bella survived. Aro called Carlisle and I, said to pick her up because they didn't want her... which I thought was weird, because of their powers and all...

"Anyways, her family was dead except for her dad which lives in this area, so we brought her back here and taught her our ways. The Volturi kidnapped her shortly after I married her. Apparently, they just wanted to take us out. They saw us as a threat."

"Whoa. Wait, so what happened to her? I thought she had powers."

"They had a man named Vittorio, and he could block anyone's talent. They blocked Bella's shield, then Jane tortured her." I fought hard to keep my teeth from grinding and my voice normal. Did it work? Nope.

"Jane? The little one that hurts to look at you?"

I nodded, my jaw clenching again.

"She's a crazy little bitch."

"I know," put in Bella bitterly from her spot in my arms.

"Can you explain what's going on?" asked Dorian.

Nikkos shrugged. "When I left my old coven, I met Edward here. We kind of made our own coven of two for a time... then he went back to his coven and I met you all. The end."

"Oh. I don't understand. I am loyal to the Volturi. Why did you kill them?"

"Were," I corrected, my voice hard. "So were we, until they betrayed our trust and tried to murder my wife. I saw Caius's plans before he died. Alice was supposed to be next. He was going to pick us off one by one and leave Carlisle for last, that bastard. He knew how much we mean to him. He betrayed Carlisle's friendship and our loyalty, and he was liable to destroy anyone else he saw fit just because."

The woman named Athena sighed. "He's right."

"What do you mean?"

"They were too powerful. We were too blinded by our loyalty to see the abusiveness of their rule."

Spiro smiled at me. "So you read minds, huh? Anyone else have stuff up their sleeves?"

Carlisle smiled, the proud father alter-ego kicking in. "Well my son Jasper feels and controls the emotions around him. Alice sees the future based on the decisions people make. Esme... well, I think that her talent is to love passionately. Emmett... well, he is incredibly strong. Rosalie has the ability to be incredibly headstrong."

"Shut up, dad!"

"I'm kidding."

"You're really gonna tell dad to shut up?"

"Yeah, that's incredibly rude."

"Sorry."

I chuckled at my family and Bella looked up at me questioningly. _Edward, what's so funny? I'm hungry. Do you think I could try to hunt? I feel strong enough now._

I looked at her cautiously. "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Dad? Bella says she wants to try to hunt."

Carlisle looked concerned. "Bella?"

"Well the pain when I move is going away. I'm tired of sitting here doing nothing. And I'm hungry. And it doesn't hurt to breathe anymore."

"Edward?"

"Come on, Super Bella."

"Yay!" She scrambled out of my lap and promptly crumpled over into Nick's arms. "Ow..."

Carlisle chuckled and handed her a cup of blood.

She sat in my lap again miserably. "Thanks," she muttered.

_She's hot! _Nikkos winked at me.

"And she's mine, you whore," I said, only half joking.

Alice giggled. "Sorry. The last of us that was single was Edward, and he's hitched now too."

"Ooh, is little Nicky gay for Edward?" cooed Acacia in a playful high-pitched baby voice.

"What the hell--? Shut up, the lot of you!"

"You set yourself up for that one, Nick."

Just then a vase flew at Nick's head. "What the hell--?"

"Edward forgot to tell you not to flirt with the husband of the telekinetic one, didn't he?" Bella smiled sweetly at him.

Nick just stared at her.

I chuckled. "She's very protective of me."

"Jealous too, huh?"

"Apparently."

"Well on a more serious note, we have to figure out what happens next." Carlisle moved Bella's feet and sat down, placing them on his lap. She stared at him for a minute, humor and confusion lighting her eyes, then she shrugged and leaned her head back on my chest.

"Well that's easy. Take over Volterra. Everyone knows who you are and will gladly welcome you as rulers."

"Well," corrected Spiro. "Not everybody." He looked straight at me. _Everyone in Volterra is ready to fight you. The only way to win is to raze the whole town. The popluation of Volterra is nine thousand. Only eighty four are vampires._

* * *

**A/N: well the story is coming to an end, and the Cullens are faced with a tough decision. will they burn Volterra with the humans inside? or will they give up their chance at ruling the vampire world? what will make them decide?**

**vote, vote vote! review, review, review! the poll closes this saturday. hopefully i'll be done with this by sunday, and then the weiner will be announced and teasers will be given, along with my disclaimers and snnouncements.**

**thanks all for your support and as always,**

**cheers!**

**~temporary insanity**


	21. Queen of Hearts

Bella was finally getting better. Acacia had helped her greatly, and her sarcastic humor was just what everyone needed. Bella started hunting on her own again, often dragging Alice and Acacia with her. Soon, our Greek/American friends had given up hunting humans as well.

Bella has gotten her strength back as well as her spunk. She's acting less of what the humans call pms. If she knew I was thinking that, she would definitely have my head. The girl was stronger in her mind that she was in real life; her throwing a rock at me with her hand hurt a million times less than if she did it in her head. She used her skill to hunt, often tripping her pray with sticks or killing them before she was even in the vicinity. Needless to say, I was very glad to see her bantering with Jacob and Emmett.

Today, we were all sitting in the living room. I had explained what Spiro had said to me, and we've been trying to figure out what to do since. In all honesty, our kind needs someone to whip us into shape. We could actually potentially destroy the world if left without rulers.

"Look, we can't just kill all those people." Carlisle shook his head.

"Well we have to. It's the only way. Bella doesn't even have to be in the vicinity, right? We can just go and stay somewhere, and she can just light a mach somewhere or something."

"No," Rosalie snapped. "What's the point of us taking over in order to be fair, but destroying everyone in the process?"

"She's right," said Dorian, pacing. "If you destroy those people, you will be no better than they are, because you will have destroyed them for selfish gain."

"Well we have to do something," protested Bella. "The news gets more gruesome every day. Yesterday, two people were found scrapped to pieces in a mall in broad daylight!"

"Yes, you're right. You're absolutely right."

"An the south is getting violent again. We cannot afford a repeat of the southern wars."

"We can't," Spiro agreed. "What do we do?"

"Edward," Bella tugged my sleeve. "can't we just do it from here?"

I looked down at her as she let down her shield and let me into her thoughts. _We just have to prove that we can be authoritative enough. Once a couple of them are burned, they will see tat we mean business, and they will have to do what we say without burning Volterra._ She is a genius.

Suddenly Alice jumped to her feet. "Yes! This will work, I know it will."

"What?"

"Edward, what did Bella tell you?"

"She was asking if we can't just rule from here. Once everyone sees that we mean business, they will be forced to obey."

"Well it will work. We will rule here, and the vampires from Volterra who don't want you to rule will bring the revolt here. And of course, I only see twenty-three of them coming. Then the whole thing disappears."

"It's perfect."

"What is?"

"Well, our friends that come around here a lot, Jacob and Seth... well they belong to a pack of shape shifters. They shift into wolves. Alice cannot see their kind."

"You're friends with werewolves?!"

"They aren't werewolves per se. they can shift at will and they aren't the classic freaky new moon and silver bullets wolves. When she was human, Jacob was Bella's best friend. When she came here, we had to rework our truce with them so they could still see each other."

"A lot has changed in your lives on account of her."

I smiled down at my Bella, whose answering smile was radiant. "Yeah. My life is changed completely, and for the better."

_I love you, Edward._

I grinned at her. "Love you too, My Bella."

"You two are pathetic."

"Shut up, Jasper. When you and Alice get all lovey-dovey we're the ones that have to get a room."

"You're one to talk?" shot back Bella.

"Be quiet, you!"

"Aww, Emmy don't be mean to me." Bella pouted while throwing the vase Esme had replaced for the sixth time this month at his head with her eyes.

"Ouch!"

Dorian and Nikkos howled with laughter.

I sighed. "Bella, you're going to have to replace that vase for Esme."

"But Edward..." she pouted at me. _Edward, don't be mad. Please?_ Her thought took on a childish begging nature. _I love you, Edward._

I sighed my defeat. I could never say no to the girl anyway. When she got like this, it virtually hurt. "Bella... fine. I'll replace it this time. Next time, you're on your own."

Her pout turned into a happy smile and she kissed both of my cheeks and my lips. This was always worth it.

"Ahem." Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "Can we get back on topic, please? We have to handle this."

"We didn't ask for any of this, Dad," spat Rosalie.

"Well we've made an even bigger mess of it and now we have to fix it."

"Alice says this will work. The issue is how do we go about this? I mean the Volturi actually trained to destroy. They were so deadly because they were unmatched in power, strategy, and skill."

"So we can be that way too. We can ask people to help us that have talent and skill already. Jasper and Emmett... and we can ask Kate to help."

"I met these nomads once..." Nikkos looked at me.

"James and Victoria. He's a tracker and she has the uncanny gift of getting the hell out of anywhere, any how, any situation... I never liked them. They're too sinister."

"They're perfect," said Jasper. "Who else?"

"I don't know..."

"Well if only twenty-three are coming, then the other sixty-one can't all be rebels. See if any of them want to help control this disaster."

Rosalie jumped up. "I'm on that."

"Okay."

"Nikkos and I can look for James," I volunteered.

Carlisle nodded once at me.

"Hey, what about me?"

"You, my beautiful Super Bella, will stay here and keep the rest of our family safe. I know you can do that."

"But you won't be safe?" a little line formed between her eyebrows as they furrowed.

"I will be perfectly fine, my Bella."

"Promise?"

I grinned and kissed her nose. "Sealed with a kiss."

_you missed._

I grinned again and kissed her lips. "Better?"

She nodded.

"Good. I love you, Super Bella. We'll be back as soon as we can."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Having been gone for a week an a half without seeing or talking to Bella, we ran back to the house with Victoria and James in tow. Of course, James and Victoria were running ahead of us and smacked into something invisible, followed by Nikkos and of course, myself.

Oh great. I forgot about Bella's little job. The one where she shielded the house from danger. "Bella, love?" I yelled, hoping that we were close enough for her to hear. I didn't know that she could push her shield this far out.

"Wait, your girl is going this?!" James sat up and angrily rubbed his head. "That freakin hurt."

"Shut up and let him talk."

"Dude, are you sure you can talk her down?"

"I can. You, however, need to shut up 'cause you can't. Bella!"

I reached out to touch the shield, but it was gone. A beautiful golden eyed angel stood in its place. "Hi, my Bella."

She jumped into my arms. "I was so worried!"

"I'm here now. This Victoria and James. They are going to help us."

She eyed them warily from the safety of my arms before looking up at me. "Okay."

"It's nice to meet you. Bella, right?"

She nodded and led the way home, never letting go of my hand. When we walked in, Jasper was sitting, talking to four men. Then I realized they all looked the same. What was going on? What had I missed?

"Oh, Edward. Our new friend, Octavius. He has the power to multiply himself."

"Hi I'm Octavius."

"Me too."

"Me too.

"Me too."

Bella laughed at the shock and confusion that must have been on my face. "Edward. It's fine. I promise Octavius is nice. All of them."

I nodded at her, still confused and freaked out. "If you say so, my love."

A woman appeared from the stairs. "If only every man learned those magic words." She had golden eyes too. That meant she was vegetarian. Why was she here?

Bella giggled. "This is Zaria. She was a pyromaniac in her human life... and now, ironically, she suffers from pyrokenesis."

"It's a pleasure."

She glared at the girl. "If you stare my husband to ashes, you and I are going to have to fight."

I studied her. She was beautiful, I guess, bu not like my Bella. She had auburn hair as low as her shoulders and her eyes glowed the color of liquid gold. Her skin was paper white and her lips were full. But my Bella was so, so much beautiful. She was also undressing me with her eyes. I looked away uncomfortably.

"The man smolders already," she said seductively.

"Hands off my man, bitch."

"Okay, Bella, that's enough." I put my arms around her waist in restraint.

"But she..."

"My Bella, please listen to me."

She stilled.

"I love you, Super Bella. Only you. No one will be able to stop me from loving you, okay? No one can take me away from you. She won't touch me."

She wrapped her arms tightly around me. "Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad. I'm glad you love me."

"Really?"

"Would I have married you?"

She smiled happily up at me. "I guess you're right."

"I always am, my Bella. Come on. We have work to do."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

James, Jasper, Kate, and Zaria made up the exterminating crew, as it was jokingly referred to. Emmett itched to go too, as did Nick and Dorian, but it was better to have them and Octavius with us for when the Italians came to attack.

When they finally did, Sam and Jacob were alerted. Of course, between them and Octavius, we didn't have much to do. That didn't stop Bella from hovering protectively over them with her shield, but the victory for us was easy, and they surrendered when they saw Octavius... all one fifty of them. No one was killed.

Carlisle called us to attention as we got ready to rebuild and move into Volterra. "I have something for all of you."Alice squealed and Carlisle gave her a look of warning before continuing. "Since we're to rule the vampire world, I thought it fitting for our family to have a symbol, much like the black cloak and crest of the Volturi. But, unlike them, our symbols is not one of bleakness and death, but of peace. Peace and justice, that's what we will stand for always."

"I have a question," said James. "Do we have to alter our diets?"

I shook my head. "No... we wouldn't force you to do that. But please, for godsake, no mauling people in the mall or any of that crazy stuff, okay? The rule is still the same; be discreet. We do have a secret to protect." the rest of our family nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. Wow, you really will be fair."

Carlisle smiled. "I have this. First for my beautiful wife Esme, my son Edward... you both made my existence purposeful. Thank you. Next Bella, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett... Jasper, my son." we all came forward as we were called, and we were each given a ring or a chain with a beautiful platinum 'C' shape, surrounded by ornately carved olive branches that were joined together at the bottom with the stone that marked our human birthdays. Of course, Bella hated flashy jewelry, so hers was a brooch.

"This is so thoughtful, Dad. Thank you."

"NO, thank you. For being our family. For being our friends. For giving us what we need to make this happen. For supporting us during the difficult times. Our friends: the Denalis of course. James and his mate Victoria. Dorian, Spiro, Nikkos... Acacia and Athena. Zaria and Octavius, our dear friends. You get one too." Carlisle smiled warmly at each of them as he handed them their gift.

They each gave him grateful hugs in return, Bella came to my side. I smiled down at her. "Do you like it?"

"It's sort of flashy... but I guess being it that we're royalty now, it fits."

I smiled at her. "The world doesn't matter as much to me as you do."

She giggled. "I guess you want to keep your title as Edward, King of Hearts."

"Am I still the king of yours?"

She smiled happily and nodded, cuddling into my arms and fingering her my new ring. I watched her fingers trace the delicate patterns and couldn't help but think back over the past year. I found love and lost it, I found the courage to fight not just for the woman of my dreams, but for my family and friends, and for my kind which was oppressed by selfish rulers for far, far too long. I then became a ruler myself. I found how selfish I had been, wallowing in my loneliness when I already had everything. I found that teamwork and loyalty always win the race.

My Bella smiled up at me again and I grinned happily back. Here in my arms was everything I'd ever wanted, and all the trouble I went through, in my life and in order to keep her was all worth it. Well if I was the king of hearts, she would have to be my queen.


	22. Epilogue: Corin

**ten years later**

Today the court was full. Bella, our personal guard, has been hovering close to my side all day. She doesn't like busy days like this, but she is calm about it enough that I don't worry about her... too much. There was an uprising the south again, the second in as many years, and James and Zaria were heading up the team that was going to put it down. Jasper and Alice were meeting with them at the moment. I was with Carlisle and Rosalie, they were with a newborn vampire that had come to us about two years ago. Her name was Elara Helene. Her family had been slaughtered in uprising and she was having trouble controlling her appetite. She would be making an extended stay with us. She wanted to learn our way, and had tried it on her own. But of course, being a newborn, she did not have the discipline to keep on it. Carlisle graciously agreed to help her, and now she was being released from our 'program'. She would marry Dorian in another two months. They were going to Africa as doctors. Emmett and Rosalie loved Africa, and would join them there after their honeymoon.

After a lot of persuasion, I managed to convince Bella that we were safe enough to help Alice and Rosalie with Elara's wedding plans. She gave me a small peck on the cheek before scampering happily off after them.

She'd lost Charlie to a heart attack last year, and had since clung to me for dear life. I was truly sorry for her loss; he was the last connection to her human life that she truly cherished. Charlie was a good man. We'd all gone back to Forks to have a proper burial for him.

Jacob's pack was there, and he and Bella shared a moment of quiet grief. Jasper was having a hard time dealing with the grief at the loss of the police chief, so he and Alice had gone to hunt in the mountain range, and several pack members went with them... including Jacob. I stayed back and held my Bella while her heart broke. It was utterly excruciating. She still grieves her father's loss and misses him terribly.

Needless to say, watching her walk off, giggling with Alice and smiling at something our new friend Elara said, did my stone heart a world of good. I turned my mind back to the task at hand. There was someone else here to see Carlisle, and this person was not letting me into their head, so I had no clue who they were or what they wanted. For safety's sake, I called Emmett to stay with us.

When the person walked in, it was everything I could do not to take her head from her shoulders. She had escaped our attack on the Volturi. God, it hurt even to think of them. Her name was Corin. She was a guard.

Carlisle's eyebrows set in anger and confusion, but he motioned me to be still. He struggled to keep his voice friendly. "How can we help you?"

She did the strangest thing... she knelt. No, she didn't just kneel. She sank to her knees and stared at the ground. Her thoughts were what made my proverbial blood run cold. _Please, please don't kill me. They made me stay with them. Please listen to what I have to say. Please._

Some part of me took compassion and I sighed. "Let her talk, Carlisle."

He nodded, still tense.

She sighed shakily. "I guess you know better than anyone what happened between Aro, Marcus, and Didyme."

Carlisle tensed farther, nodding once. Jasper, who had walked in at just that moment, worked to keep Carlisle calm. I've never in my hundred and twenty years seen him this angry.

"Marcus wanted to leave. When I came to the Volturi, I was forced, just like he was... they changed me for my gifts—that's what they said--Chelsea, the relationship fixer, she made us stay. We were going to kill her and run away, but we were afraid of Aro."

Carlisle collapsed in his seat. "What happened?"

"To me?"

He nodded.

"They changed me in 1927. I was doing the laundry outside when they came. They had my mother. They said that if I didn't do exactly what they said, they would kill her. I tried to run away. They killed her. I went with them and they took me to this dark, horrid place and they changed me. Marcus was angry at them for doing it. He said that half-hearted obedience was worse than full loyalty. He and Aro argued and Marcus said that he wished he was in your coven instead, and that Didyme would still be alive if they belonged with you. That's why they wanted so bad to kill you and your coven... well, Aro and Caius did anyway... it was because they wanted to keep Marcus and they wanted to prove to him that you were a nobody."

Carlisle stared at his hands. "Marcus was always the kindest of the three of them," he whispered. "Even in the deadness of his heart there was kindness."

_He wanted me and I killed him. Am I as bad as them for killing him when all he wanted was for me to save him?_

" No. You're wrong," I told him. "You didn't know. There's no way you could have known."

He shook his head. And I was going to argue again but Corin spoke. "I loved him all my life. He never loved me back... his heart was always for Didyme. But please... if there is mercy in you like you say, let me live. Don't kill me because of them. I did nothing wrong."

Carlisle nodded. "Go in peace," he whispered. "Forgive me."

She looked up at him. "I have no where to go."

"Then you can stay," I said. "You can stay here and we will take care of you. Jasper..."

He grinned at her, helping her to her feet and offering her his arm. "I'll show you to your room, ma'am," he drawled, using his natural southern charm and his supernatural talent to put her at ease. She smiled her thanks and they walked away.

I turned to Carlisle, who was still pensively studying his fingers.

"Dad, you didn't know. You couldn't have known. You know how Marcus was. There's no way you could have seen it, and he certainly didn't think about it around me."

"I was supposed to be his friend."

"Yeah, and Aro and Caius were supposed to be yours, and they were supposed to be his brother. They made him live miserably and let him die miserably for their own selfish gain."

"You're right. But now, that girl has lost everything."

"Well, we'll have to help her get back on her feet and live her life. We owe her that much."

"I wonder how many others were Aro's prisoners."

"It doesn't matter now. They are gone. We are here to help our kind start over new. It means we have to too."

Emmett, who had been silent the whole time, spoke quietly. "Dad, she's here because she knows you are good. She's here because she knows we can help. Besides, I needed a new little sister... Alice and Bella are no fun anymore. And Elara's going away for months!"

I chuckled. Emmett was always the most childishly sincere out of all of us.

"Thank you both." Carlisle gave us warm hugs. "You're the best sons a man can ask for."

"What about me?"

He laughed. "You too, Jasper."

Jasper smiled radiantly then turned to us. "You might want to fetch your wives now... they're driving poor Elara insane. Her emotions alone were like getting your family jewels removed with a cheese grater."

All of us winced. That was not good imagery. "We're on it."

We trapezed through the hallways until we reached my room. There were Esme, Alice, Bella, and Rosalie, and they were arguing.

"No way! The blue makes her eyes look amazing! And I know just the shoes to go with that. And the make up-- oh, I can see it in my head already..." Alice, of course.

"I agree with Alice, dear."

"Guys, she said she hates blue. And Dorian hates blue. She doesn't want blue. She said green. Why don't we try that, or some other color, like purple?" Bella, of course. She'd told me about her total hatred for shopping. A trait she obviously carried into her new life.

"Well blue is what looks best, dear."

"Yeah. You definitely have to go with the blue."

"Alice, for the love of God, your wedding was over a hundred years ago. Get over it! It's her wedding, not yours," snapped Rose, and Alice pouted.

Elara just watched them argue, since she was clearly unable to put in a word on her own.

I cleared my throat and Bella was in my arms in an instant. "Edward, tell them that Elara hates blue. They're trying to make it her color, but she clearly wants green instead."

I cocked an eyebrow at Alice. She was clearly the one behind the scheme. She gave me puppy eyes and Jasper cocked an eyebrow too. "Edward-- Jazzy, listen to me. Don't you think that Elara's hair and eyes go perfectly with this color?" she showed him several swatches of blue and he sighed. "Alice, darling, you're the one that knows about that sort of thing."

Carlisle sat down cross legged and pulled Esme into his lap. Emmett did the same with Rosalie, and the two started making out almost immediately. Alice and Jasper had gone off on their own tangent, and Mom and Dad sat looking into eachother's eyes.

Elara looked at me with pleading eyes and I grinned. "Green, Elara." She gave me a grateful hug and fled the room. It was almost like the old times then. There was only one major difference: the woman in my arms.

My Bella. I had been so lonely back then. Watching my family like this had made me lonely and miserable. The best thing happened to me the day I saw her curled up in fear for the first time. I was lost until I found her. And every time she smiles at me, I find my reason for being all over again.

"Knock knock," a voice whispered, and I turned to see Corin standing at the door. "Hi. Bella, is it?"

She nodded, hiding her face in my chest shyly.

Corin smiled at me. "I just came to say that I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Corin. It's theirs. They did this to you, to us."

She smiled again. "I can see that it was a mistake to try to hurt your family-- it was their downfall. And it was a mistake to hurt Bella. Allow me to ask for forgiveness on their behalf."

I looked down at her, her face still hidden in my chest. I buried my nose in her hair and inhaled her scent-- strawberries and vanilla-- and I was in heaven.

"She's perfect for you," mused Corin, still smiling. "It was a mistake worth making." and she walked away.

Bella looked up at me and I smiled down at happily. I had to agree with Corin; she was definitely the most beautiful mistake anyone ever made.

**FIN**

* * *

**A/N: so there's your winner, folks. The title of the story is Beautiful Mistake, and that one was offered by yours truly. Since I won my own competition, I can't give myself teasers. So that means that my disclaimers and announcements will have to suffice. Thanks for all your support for this story. Hope it was to your liking.**

**New story will be out very soon. Reviews make my insanity a little more temporary!**

**Cheers!  
~temporary insanity**


	23. End of Story Newsletter

Disclaimer:

_**If you recognize the character, it isn't mine, it's stephanie meyer's. Except Corin, that character is mentioned like once in all of the twilight saga and it's not even made clear (as far as I remember) if it's a boy or girl. So I made it a girl and made my own story of it, but otherwise, that one belongs to stephanie meyer too.**_

_**no profit is being made from the posting of this story. **_

Shout-outs:

**thanks to:**

_Angel4057**: thanks for your reviews and opinions, they matter very much to me.**_

_Animal8**: thank you for your enthusiasm. it kept me going.**_

_**special thanks to everyone who voted or had an idea to add for the poll.**_

Announcements:

**I have two new twilight stories lined up for you all:**

_**The one that will be up in the immediate future is called **_**The Reason****_. It's about Edward. He's a classic bad-assed teenage delinquent forced to do community service. He winds up working at his dad's hospital, where he sees Bella for the first time and his life changes. AH, AU_**

_**Another story I have lined up... it doesn't have a title just yet, but basically two life-long friends turned lovers search for his father. Love, loss, and romance. Written for Carlisle/Esme fans. AH,AU**_

_**Please be sure to check out my on-going twilight fic, 'Piano Man,' and be sure to check out my instant star fanfics!**_

**As always, **

**cheers!  
~temporary insanity**


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